


Somebody Else's Arms || Harry Styles AU

by lisavslisa



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Jealousy, Love, Love Triangles, Love/Hate, Male-Female Friendship, Neighbors, Non-Famous Harry, Romantic Friendship, Sex, Sexual Content, Unrequited Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-02-26 12:46:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 28,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13236036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lisavslisa/pseuds/lisavslisa
Summary: Harry Styles is smart, funny, rich and oh so handsome. He is also Hailey Breen’s neighbor and everything she could possibly think about from the day she met him. As their friendship deepens, things quickly go from zero to sixty and then subsequently stall on the side of the road, leaving Hailey wondering if things will ever go back to normal again.





	1. {One}

**Author's Note:**

>   
>    
> 

**Part One**

Hailey Breen’s eyes were startled away from the television set by a boisterous knock on her apartment door. She inwardly groaned wondering who on earth it might possibly be. She was literally sitting in her sweats with orange fingers up to her knuckles from the Cheetos she was just eating straight from the bag. Her hair was pulled up into a rats-nest of a ponytail high on top of her head and she didn’t have a smidge of makeup on. _Really fucking attractive, Hailey._

When another knock followed shortly after, Hailey did her best to lick any evidence of the artificial cheesy goodness from her fingers and stashed the bag of Cheetos behind a pillow. Whoever it was didn’t need to see the makings of her pathetic life.

“Just a second. _Jeesh_ ,” Hailey said as she crossed the room to answer the door. Pulling it open, she saw her neighbor Harry Styles, all-around hottie of the building, leaning casually against the door frame.

“Oh, hi,” Hailey said, taken aback by his presence. She felt her cheeks blush immediately. Why, oh why, did he have to come over tonight? Tonight when she looked like complete trash.

She shouldn’t have been surprised though. Their friendship developed pretty rapidly over the year and a half they lived across the hall from each other. Their friendship, among other things – like the wild sensation of imaginary butterflies that fluttered in her stomach every time he was near her. Like she mentioned before, her life was pretty pathetic.

“Hi, Hailz,” he said as his sly smile greeted her.

“Hey, Harry,” she said casually, sending him a smile back, because _gosh, look at him_. Who wouldn’t smile when they saw him?

“Hey, I’ve got a dilemma that I need your help with,” he said, standing upright, running his hand through the front tuft of his beautiful brown locks.

“Uh, okay,” she said, sending him a look of unease. What on earth would he possibly need _her_ help with?

“Can you… just, come on,” he said, swiping his hand through the air to motion her to follow him back to his place.

“I’ve gotta…” Hailey started, looking back into her apartment.

“What?” He asked a bit impatiently. She was going to mention she needed to shut off her TV, but really there was no need. She’d be back in no time, because she knew he had his date with Emma tonight.

“Oh, never mind,” she said, closing the door behind her, following him across the hall to his place.

Hailey followed Harry straight into his bedroom after petting his two adorable dogs, Jagger and Bowie.

“So… okay,” he said, walking into his massive closet.

Hailey immediately pounced on his bed, sprawling herself out like she owned the god damn place. She perched her head up on her hand waiting for his so-called dilemma that he so adamantly needed her help with. Jagger immediately jumped on the bed with her, but Bowie stood at the foot of it looking up at her like _‘pick me up, lady’_. He was just too tiny to make it up on the bed by himself.

“You know, you really should get Bowie some stairs leading up to your bed. It’s not fair,” Hailey called out to Harry as she picked up the tiny mutt. Both dogs curled up with her on the bed after getting their fair share of kisses in.

“I’ll get right on that,” Harry said, sounding purposely bored.

“Daddy just doesn’t care. No, does he?” Hailey said, speaking directly to the tiny puppy.

“So, which shirt should I wear?” Harry asked as he walked out of the closet with two, no doubt, over-priced designer dress shirts. One more outrageous than the next.

“Uh…” Hailey said, looking between the red floral one and the electric blue floral one. Harry certainly had a knack for dressing eccentrically. But that was all just a part of what made Harry _Harry_.

“Blahh,” she said, making a face at them both.

“You don’t like them?” He asked, frowning a bit.

“Jesus, Harry. Come on, man,” she said, pulling herself off of the bed to really give him her help.

She walked straight into his cavernous closet, really looking around. She sifted through his shirts on their hangers and found a stark white Armani dress shirt and a pitch black Gucci blazer.

“Here,” she said, handing them to him, watching as he quirked his eyebrow.

“Do you have slacks to match the jacket?” Hailey asked him.

“Yeah,” he said, looking at the garments in his hands.

“You can’t go wrong with simple every once in a while, Harry. There’s nothing sexier than a man in a well-tailored suit,” she said, sending him a look of pure satisfaction for a job well-done.

“You don’t like my floral choices?” He frowned.

“Simple is sexy, Harry. You want Emma to think you’re sexy, don’t you?” She asked, heightening her eyebrows at him.

“Well, yeah,” he stated matter-of-factly.

“Then trust me,” she said knowingly.

“But, now I need different shoes,” he said with a huff.

Hailey sighed as she immediately turned back into his closet, realizing just how painful this truly was. She was picking out the perfect date outfit for the perfect man, except the date wasn’t with her and she had absolutely no chance of ever getting her hands on any of that perfection.

“Here,” she said, thrusting a pair of shiny black Saint Laurent dress shoes at him.

“Cuff links?” He asked, quirking his eyebrow with a sly smirk on his lips.

“Would you like me to pick out your socks and underwear too?” She asked him sarcastically. She needed to draw the line somewhere. She could not bear to rifle through his underwear drawer. It would literally cause her pain picturing what kind of skivvies a man like Harry Styles wore. _Oh_ , her heart. _Oh_ , her _raging_ libido.

“I guess I can figure out the rest,” he said as he lay the garments in his arms out on his bed. Both dogs went to sniff at them before Harry gently scolded them away.

Hailey was still holding on to his highly-expensive designer shoes, watching him from behind. She bit her lip, studying his entire build. As if she hadn’t already scoured every inch of that body with her eyes and cataloged it in her brain for future reference. He was such a magnificent creature.

“Well, I think my work here is done,” Hailey said, quietly placing the shoes on the bed next to his suit before she made her way to his bedroom door.

“Hey, where are you going?” He called out to her.

“Uh, back to my place,” she said, sending him an odd look.

“But… what if I look absolutely horrible?” He asked, his mouth left slack-jawed.

“You won’t. Trust me,” she told him.

“But… just… just wait until I try on the shirt and jacket,” he said, throwing his t-shirt over his head quickly.

_Oh, good god._

It wasn’t like she hadn’t seen his chest or abs or perfect treasure trail before – they lived across the hall from one another for a year and a half and there was a pool at their complex. It was just the fact that he caught her so off guard ripping off his shirt like that. It definitely threw her.

“Uh…” Hailey stammered, trying to pry her eyes away. But, of course, she couldn’t.

“Just hang on,” he said, carefully pulling the shirt off its hanger and slipping it over his shoulders, covering up more than a few of his massive collection of tattoos.

As he buttoned the shirt, covering up more and more skin, she felt like she could actually breathe again.

“So far so good,” she said, swallowing what little saliva she had left in her mouth.

“Don’t go anywhere,” he said, eyeing her as he grabbed for the jacket.

She watched as he pulled it on and stood in front of her, smoothing out the front of it.

“Oh… uh…” Hailey said, pointing to his collar that was a bit wonky in the back.

“What?” He asked, trying to smooth it out, but failed.

“Uh… just… here,” she said, moving toward him, laying his collar flat for him. _Dear lord_ , his scent was intoxicating.

“Thanks,” he said, turning up a bashful smile at her. _Oh god_ , their faces were so close. She might die.

It took Hailey a moment, but her brain synced back up with her motor skills and she took a step back feeling like an idiot for staring at him longer than any sane person would.

“How do I look?” He asked, holding out his arms.

“Hmm,” she said, tapping her lips with her fingertip. He left the shirt unbuttoned ridiculously low so that his cross necklace and his sparrow tattoos were peeking out. But it worked for him. It definitely worked.

“What?” He asked, frowning at her.

“The running shorts need to go,” Hailey joked, making a throat slicing gesture with her hand.

She didn’t mean it to come out sounding sexually at all, but when she saw the cock of Harry’s eyebrow, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

“I mean… you know. You’ve gotta wear it with the slacks… the black slacks… you know what I mean,” she stammered, feeling more than a little flustered as she waved her hands in the air, trying to redeem herself. Harry could only chuckle at her.

“But, seriously, how does the rest of it look?” He asked, casually holding his arms out at his sides, waiting for her opinion.

“Perfect,” she told him honestly. It was her number one describing word for Harry. _Big sigh_.

“You’re the best, Hailey. Truly the best,” he said, closing the space between them, wrapping her into a hug.

His cologne and natural musk were choking her – in the most pleasing way. Everything about his scent, his looks, his personality turned her on. But her brain knew it wasn’t the best idea to get sucked in to his ethereal halo. Her brain knew what her heart couldn’t understand – that Harry Styles would never look at her, think of her, or feel for her the way she did for him.

And the hardest part was trying to think with her brain when her heart kept leading her straight to him.

 

\----------------------------------------------------

 **This is a story I wrote way back in 2011 (before I was even into One Direction and all their perfectness - before I was in love with Harry Styles, haha). It needed, and still needs, a whole-helluva-lot of editing and I just started that last night. We'll see how this goes...**  
  
**As always, let me know what you think!**

**Oh, and btw - HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	2. {Two}

Hailey woke up to pounding on her condo door the next morning and was most displeased over it. _Why?_ _No, seriously, why?_ She opened her eyes as she lay in bed and wonder who in the hell could be at her door at eight in the morning on a Saturday. And fuck it if it wasn’t an emergency of some sort. That was the only acceptable explanation. She wouldn’t have it if it wasn’t. She grumbled to herself as she threw the covers off of her, realizing that the maniac pounding on her door wasn’t going to stop until she _made_ them stop.

She pushed her glasses onto her face and threw her tousled hair into a ponytail. She didn’t care that she was only wearing an oversized t-shirt and panties – she was literally only looking to shoo away the inconsiderate bastard, whomever they may be, and go back to bed.

As she walked down the hallway, the pounding on the door only got louder.

“ _Fuck’s sake_ ,” she grumbled, letting out a huff.

“Hailzzz!” She heard her name come through the door as she went to unlock it.

_Well, fuck_. It was Harry.

“Hailey, open up the bloody door,” Harry grumbled from the other side of it.

_Good God_. She looked like a nightmare. Did she really want him to see her like this? She looked around the room for anything to cover herself up with, but there was nothing – absolutely nothing. She even took the blanket from the couch to bed with her last night. _Shit_.

“Hailey,” Harry whined through the door as her fingers twisted the deadbolt and peeled back the chain that was locking him out.

“Stop whining,” she grumbled as she opened the door.

“Oh, finally!” Harry gasped, looking rather relieved.

“Hi,” she said, peeking her head around the door, making sure to keep her bare legs out of sight.

“You sleep like a god damn rock,” he said, smirking mischievously at her.

“Harry, it’s eight am… on a Saturday,” she pointed out, looking unamused.

“I have coffee. And muffins,” he said, holding both up with a smile on his face.

Hailey grumbled to herself, debating on letting him in or not.

“Don’t be such a grump,” he said, giving her a stern look before he squeezed himself passed her into her condo.

“Uh…” Hailey stammered, realizing that nothing was going to keep him from seeing her in all her glory now.

Harry set the coffee and muffins down on the coffee table and looked up at her, _really_ looking at her.

“Jeez, Hailz. You sure don’t leave much up to the imagination,” he said, smirking devilishly at her.

“I was sleeping,” she grumbled as she shut the door.

“I can’t say I’m sorry to have woken you,” he replied playfully as she saw his eyes travel up her legs and land on her chest. Her t-shirt was incredibly thin and she wasn’t wearing a bra – so honestly, there _wasn’t_ much left up the imagination.

“I’m… I’m going to go get dressed,” she said awkwardly.

“You know, you don’t have to,” he said, smirking at her.

“With the way you’re perving on me right now, yes I do,” she snickered and he let out a loud boisterous laugh. A moment later, she hurried down the hallway to her bedroom.

_Jesus Christ_. Was Harry really just checking her out? Her of _all_ people? It made her nerves and anxiety and everything else inside her want to spontaneously combust or vomit out of her uncontrollably. Or _whatever_. She didn’t really know how to feel.

A sense of satisfaction ran through her thinking about it. Harry had never looked at her like that before and everything inside her was screaming because of it. Her gaze made its fair share of trips over his body in just the same way, but she’d never seen him look at her with such raw sexuality before. _Holy Mary, Mother of God_.

Hailey stripped off her t-shirt and dressed quickly in a tank top and jeans before she went back out to the living room. Harry was already eating his muffin and smiled at up at her as she approached.

“Starbucks made great muffins today,” he said through a mouthful.

“Great,” she said, smirking at him as she sat down on the other side of the sectional sofa, keeping a safe distance between the two of them.

“Here,” he said, leaning over to hand her the muffin and coffee he got her.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, setting the drink on the coffee table before she opened the bag and pulled out her muffin. Harry had a sideways smirk plastered on his face as he ate his muffin and she couldn’t figure out why he was so god damn chipper.

“What’s gotten into you?” Hailey asked, looked at him oddly.

“What? Can’t I get breakfast for my friend?” He replied, smirking at her with crumbs teetering on his bottom lip.

“I mean, yeah. But you’re… you’re acting weird. And you’re up… like, awake before eight am. It’s weird,” she pointed out.

“ _Hmm_ ,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Hailey eyed him for a long moment. That little smirk hidden at the corner of his lips was _still_ there. His eyes were bright without a hint of sleep. He was cheerful and giving. And it all pointed to one thing.

“You had sex last night,” she blurted out, causing Harry to nearly choke on his coffee.

“You did, didn’t you?” Hailey prodded.

“ _Christ_ , Hailz,” he laughed, sending her a peculiar look.

“My style choices got you laid,” she said, smirking at him, feeling particularly proud. Even though it was more than a little bit hard to carry on such a conversation with the man of her desire.

“I’d like to think that my charm and suave moves got me laid – not your style choices,” he laughed out loud.

“Oh, gross. ‘Suave moves’?” Hailey cringed as she let out a laugh.

“What? You don’t think I have game?” He laughed, looking at her dumbfounded.

“’Game’? Oh my god. Are we in a bad nineties movie now?” She laughed, leaning back against the couch.

“Shut up, Hailey. You’re an absolutely terrible friend. You’re not supposed to make fun,” he laughed, leaning over to push at her shoulder.

“You’re not supposed to set yourself up so badly,” she laughed at him.

“Give me back my muffin!” He said, trying to swipe it out of her hand.

“No freakin’ way!” She said and licked the entire top side of the chocolate-chocolate chip muffin.

“Oh, vulgar!” He shouted, scrunching up his nose at her.

“You want it now?” She taunted him, holding it out in front of his face.

“You think I’m afraid of your saliva?” He challenged, cocking an eyebrow at her.

“You should be,” she laughed.

“Why? Is it poisonous? Are you a man-eater?” He laughed, narrowing his eyes at her.

“Yes. All of thee above,” she laughed playfully.

“So, you’re saying if I ate this muffin, in which you completely slobbered, I would die?” He asked, smirking playfully at her.

“No. You’d just fall under my spell,” she teased, smirking wildly at him.

“ _Ohhh_. And that would be a bad thing?” He quipped, which completely made her stomach do flip-flops.

“Totally,” she nodded, taking a big bite out of the muffin.

“I better stay away. I wouldn’t want to be under you in any way shape or form,” he said, quirking an eyebrow at her.

_Whoa_. Was it just her or was there a strong dose of sarcasm that came along with his words? She eyed him for a moment, wondering what the hell he truly meant. Because it wasn’t fair to toy with her emotions like that.

Harry let out a laugh and took a sip of coffee from his cup.

“I can’t believe Emma gave it up,” Hailey said, shaking her head. She had to change the subject _immediately_ to get his little sexual innuendo out of her mind.

“Oh, please. She was practically begging for it,” Harry scoffed playfully.

“ _Jesus_ ,” Hailey snickered.

Harry looked at her with a bashful smile tugging up his lips, like he knew he said too much.

“Don’t hold back, my friend,” Hailey laughed.

“I mean… I just… whatever. We’ve been seeing each other long enough…” He started to justify his response.

“No, no. We’ve been friends long enough, Harry. You don’t have to sensor yourself,” she giggled.

“But… I don’t know. That just came out all wrong. I…” He said, looking genuinely embarrassed.

“It’s okay,” she said, smiling over at him. He eyed her for a moment and then took a sip of his coffee for a lack of better things to do.

“But, you know I’m not just some disgusting pig looking to get laid, right? I mean, that’s not how you see me, right?” He asked, seeming a bit self-conscious.

“That’s not how I see you at all, Harry,” she told him honestly. Her head was pretty much shoved so far up his ass, it wasn’t funny anymore. He literally had to do a helluva lot more than say some fake misogynistic remark to get her to ever retract herself.

“How do you see me?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow curiously.

_Oh, Jesus Lord_. That was a loaded fucking question if she ever heard one. How _did_ she see Harry Styles? Well, what was the PG answer? She couldn’t actually tell him what she _really_ thought – that would be reckless.

Well, she could start with the obvious. He was a well-manicured, pristinely built, gorgeous specimen of a man. There was never a day, in her eyes, that Harry didn’t look absolutely mouth-watering – even with his eccentric style choices. She’d known him now for a year and a half and had pretty much seen him in every light. She saw him when he was sick, when he was sad, when he was depressed – she was witness to it all. And literally nothing, over time, ever deteriorated her view on him.

And then there was the internal parts of Harry. He had the biggest heart out of anyone she had ever met. He was a genuine person all around. As far as she knew, he didn’t lie. He loved his family unconditionally. His dogs were his best friends and he took care of them like they were his children.  He treated women – including her – with the utmost respect. Overall, Harry Styles was absolutely the most perfect man ever created. _That_ was how she saw him.

“You’re a good guy, Harry,” Hailey said evenly, giving him the compact version of her answer.

“I’m a good guy? That’s all you have for me?” He scoffed, smirking at her – very unsatisfied with her answer.

“What do you want me to say?” She laughed and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t know. Give me _something_ ,” he laughed.

“Is this some sort of ego boost, or what?” Hailey asked, eyeing him.

“No. _Jeez_. I just want to make sure my best friend doesn’t think I’m some sort of creeper, sleazebag,” he laughed.

“Best friend?” She choked out. Did he really refer to her as his best friend?

“Shut up, Hailz. Of course you’re my best friend. One of them at least,” he told her and all she could do was nod her head.

“Am I not one of yours?” He asked incredulously.

“Yeah, I guess,” she said quietly, picking at the outside wrapper of the muffin in her hand.

“I love the confidence in your tone,” he laughed as he popped the last bit of his muffin in his mouth.

“Shut up,” she scoffed, sending him a playful glare.

Hailey set down her muffin on the coffee table and took a sip of her coffee to cut the edge off of the feelings she was feeling. She wanted to freak out a little because he just cemented their friendship into a level she never knew could exist between them. She didn’t even realize he thought of her that fondly. Before this she thought she was just his neighbor. She liked being referred to as his best friend. But then it slowly dawned on her that if she was his best friend, there was just about no chance to ever break free from that. _Fucking friend-zone_.


	3. {Three}

Hailey woke up in the middle of the night from the ringing of her cell phone. She figured she would just let it go, because _who the fuck_ would actually be calling her in the middle of the night like a crazy person? She hoped it was just a wrong number, making it futile to answer it in the end. It was the perfect excuse to ignore it. It would just end up breaking her out of the comfy cocoon she built around herself and she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep. When the ringtone ended, Hailey relaxed once again and dug her head back into her pillow.

Her eyes shot open when her phone started ringing again a few seconds later. _Well, fuck_. Rolling over, she grabbed the phone off the night stand and squinted at the bright light to see who it could possibly be. She needed all the beauty sleep she could get, _motherfucker_.

_Harry_. Of course it was fucking Harry. _Of course_.

She didn’t know whether to yell out in anger or glee at the sight of his name on her cellular. It was three in the morning after all. She just wanted to be sleeping. But then again, it was Harry – her _best friend_ , her unrequited love interest.

“Hello?” She answered with a huff on the third ring.

“ _Haiiiiiileeeyy_ ,” she heard his obnoxious drunken voice come through the receiver.

“Hey, Harry,” she said flatly, completely unamused.

“Hailey, I’m drunk,” he told her. _Oh, great_. A drunk dial.

“I got that much,” she said weakly. He must have been extremely drunk to have dialed her at this time of night.

“I’m drunk and I’m alone,” he said with a slight whine to his tone.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you out with your friends? Isn’t it Matt’s bachelor party tonight?” She asked, sounding confused. One of his best friends was getting married in like a week and Harry was one of the many groomsmen.

“The limo dropped me off,” he said, his voice still sounding more than a little whiney.

“Okay. So…” Hailey started to say.

“I’M ALONE, HAILEY!” He shouted dramatically.

“What the hell does that even mean, Harry? Do you want me to come over or something?” She asked, getting more and more confused by his behavior.

“I can’t even get in,” he whined.

“You can’t get in?” She repeated, furrowing her brow. He was so god damn confusing.

“I lost my keys,” he said finally.

“ _Ohhhhh_ ,” she giggled, catching onto what he was trying to say all along.

“Come get me,” he whined even more.

“Are you downstairs? At the front door?” She asked, grabbing her glasses from the nightstand and slipping them on her face.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“Okay. I’ll be right down,” Hailey giggled, hanging up her phone.

She laughed to herself as she got out of bed. When she realized she once again chose an oversized shirt and panties for bed, she knew she needed to change. She threw on sweatpants and a camisole, topping off the outfit with a zip up hoodie, just to be safe around Harry because cami’s didn’t really leave much to the imagination either.

Hailey grabbed her keys and locked her door behind her before she headed down toward the front door of the main building. She took the elevator down and immediately saw him as the elevator doors opened. He was sitting with his back against the glass door and Hailey couldn’t help but laugh. She walked over to it and knocked so he knew to get up. He turned his head to look up at her through the doors and immediately a smile plastered across his face. He was so god damn adorable sometimes. She watched as he pulled his drunk ass off the floor and moved out of the way so she could open the door.

“Some chick thought I was a hobo,” he said, pouting at her.

“What? Oh my god,” she giggled, holding the door open for him as she took a look at his outfit.

“I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t think you were a hobo. What – with your Gucci loafers and Versace top from the Spring line,” Hailey quipped, eyeing him skeptically.

“ _Right?”_ He laughed.

“Good lord,” she snickered under her breath.

“You’re my hero, Hailz,” he said, throwing his arm over her shoulder.

“Heroine,” she corrected him.

“Whatever you’re into,” he said, smirking over at her.

“I didn’t mean _heroin_. I meant…” She said, shaking her head, but realized it would be ineffectual to explain.

“I was joking, Hailz,” he snorted and she was reminded just how drunk he was.

“Shut up,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him as she shoved his arm off her shoulder. He laughed out loud as he stumbled through the doorway, knocking over a massive potted plant in the process.

“ _Jesus_ , Harry. How much have you had to drink?” She laughed, pulling the plant upright again.

“ _Lil_ bit,” he said as he leaned against the wall.

“You can barely walk by yourself,” she laughed, eyeballing him.

“Matty’s getting married next week. We had to fucking _raaaaage_ ,” Harry said, throwing his fist up in the air.

“Looks like it,” she snickered.

“I’m ready to sleep though,” he said, calming slightly as he scrubbed his knuckles into his closed eyelids. He looked like an adorable little child.

“Come on. I’ll help you to the elevator,” she said as he threw his arm over her shoulder again.

“Thanks, Hailey,” he sighed sleepily as he smiled sweetly at her.

“Anytime, Harry,” she replied, smiling back at him as she felt a blush roll up her cheeks.

Once they were in the elevator, he leaned in the corner and just stared at her with a chummy grin on his face.

“What?” She asked, looking at him oddly.

“Have I ever told you you’re pretty, Hailey?” He asked, catching her completely off guard.

“What? No,” she scoffed, feeling her cheeks heat up even further.

“Well, you are,” he told her matter-of-factly.

“Shut up. You’re drunk,” she scoffed again.

“No. I think about it a lot. Even when I’m sober,” he replied, completely throwing her for a loop.

“You what?” She asked incredulously, looking at him like he was crazy. Cause really, he was acting fucking crazy.

“Oh, shut it,” he scoffed as the elevator door opened.

“You shut it. Come on,” she said, helping him out of the elevator as the two of them walked down the hallway together – Harry using the wall as a guide because he _had_ to.

“So, I have a question for you,” Hailey said, quirking her eyebrow at him.

“What?” He asked, stumbling on his feet.

“How are you going to get into your apartment?” She asked curiously.

He stopped dead in his tracks a second later, swaying slightly, really trying to come up with an answer.

“I guess I’m not,” he said straight faced before he busted out laughing – _loudly_.

“I guess you’re not,” Hailey laughed too.

“Oh my god. I… I didn’t even think of that,” he laughed.

“Come on. You can stay at my place,” she giggled.

“BEST FRIEND!” He shouted happily, throwing his hands in the air.

“Yeah, yeah,” she said, rolling her eyes at him.

“ _Pretty_ best friend,” he cooed, pulling her to him, nuzzling his nose into her cheek.

“Jesus, Harry. Get off,” she said, pushing him away.

“THAT’S WHAT SHE SAID!” He yelled quickly and proceeded to laugh at his own joke.

“ _Shhhh!_ It’s like three o’clock in the morning,” Hailey giggled as she unlocked her apartment door.

“Oh, shit,” he said, stifling his laughs with his hand over his mouth.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing his heavily tattooed arm to guide him in.

“I’ve got to go to the loo,” he announced immediately.

“When you puke, try to puke in the toilet not all over everything else,” she told him.

“Fuck that. I’m not going to puke!” He yelled back at her as he stumbled his way down her hallway to the bathroom.

Hailey giggled to herself as she went into her room to grab some spare blankets and pillows for Harry to use on the couch. When she came out of her walk-in closet, Harry was standing in her bedroom removing his over-priced, well-tailored clothing.

“ _JESUS CHRIST!”_ Hailey yelped at the sight of him shirtless in her room.

“What? Did I startle you?” He asked as he undid his painted-on black skinny jeans.

“Wh-what are you doing?” She stammered, holding a pillow and blanket tightly in her arms for him.

“I’m not sleeping in my clothes, Hailey. That’s just not comfortable,” he scoffed.

“Uh…” She stammered, feeling like her brain might spontaneously combust.

“What?” He asked again, sending her an odd look.

“I, uh… am I sleeping on the couch?” Hailey asked, feeling utterly confused.

“What? No. You’ve got a big bed. We can share,” he said as he pulled down his jeans, leaving him in his massively tight boxer briefs.

_Oh, Jesus Lord_. She could see every single bit of definition as her eyes involuntarily honed in on his crotch. And then her eyes got a glimpse of a secret tattoo – a massive secret tattoo of a tigers bust on his upper thigh. She was about to fucking lose it.

She stood frozen in the middle of her bedroom floor, watching as Harry crawled up into her cozy bed with all the blankets and pillows that she usually used to wrap herself it. He was certainly lacking grace of any kind, throwing himself face down onto the right side of the bed. Hailey giggled to herself as he groaned a pleasing sigh as his body settled into the mattress. She couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of his fit-as-hell ass as it stuck out through all the blankets. _God damn_.

“Enjoying yourself?” Hailey giggled as she threw the extra pillow and blanket at the foot of the bed.

“I’m never leaving your bed. _Oh my god_. What is this made out of? Clouds?” He asked, snuggling the pillow up underneath his head as he smiled contently at her.

“Uh… last I checked it was just a pillow top mattress,” she giggled as she sat down on the left side of the bed.

She felt weird because her usual side was the right side where he was laying. _Scratch that._ She felt weird because Harry Styles was in her bed… _with her_.

“Get in,” he said, patting the mattress.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, pushing the blanket down so she could crawl in.

“You’re wearing all those clothes to bed?” He asked, looking at her like she was crazy.

“Well…” She shrugged, making a face at him.

“A sweatshirt. Really, Hailey?” He asked, eyeing her with a smirk.

“Shut up,” she said, rolling her eyes as she unzipped the hoodie and pulled it off of her.

“Much better,” he cooed, smiling contently.

“Yeah,” she said awkwardly as she noticed Harry’s gaze on her chest.

She pulled the blankets up over her body as she laid down next to him in the bed. When he crawled underneath the blankets with her was when she started to feel extremely nervous.

“Thanks, Hailz,” Harry cooed.

“Yeah. Sure,” she said quietly.

“You’re a good friend,” he sighed.

“So are you,” she told him honestly.

The two of them laid there for a few moments before Hailey asked him to turn off the bedside light. He leaned over and she watched every single sexy muscle rippling in his back and she knew right then there was no way in hell she was going to get any sleep with this perfect creature in her bed. She turned her back to him to try to keep her mind off of him and his perfect face and perfect body and perfect _everything_.

“Goodnight,” Harry said, reaching over to what she could only assume was to pat her arm or back, but instead his hand grazed over the swell of her ass.

“ _Oh!_ Goodnight,” she said as she let out a startled giggle.

“Did I… did I just touch your bum?” He asked curiously.

“You may have,” she said quietly and he laughed out loud.

“Sorry,” he chuckled.

“No. It’s okay,” she told him, feeling even more awkward.

“Why do you have your back to me? Are you repulsed by me?” He asked with a playful scoff.

“Yeah. That’s exactly it,” she said sarcastically.

“I knew it,” he huffed comically.

“Shut up and go to sleep,” she giggled, rolling her eyes even though she knew he couldn’t see her.

“Mm-hmm,” he hummed.

The two of them were silent for a few moments, but apparently Harry wasn’t as tired as he made it seem when they were walking up to her condo.

“I totally saw some bloke fucking a girl in the bathroom at the bar tonight,” Harry blurted out.

“Nah-uh,” Hailey said, turning slightly to look at him.

“Yuh-huh. It was crazy. Like, right by the urinals. Like mate, the least you could do is fuck her in one of the stalls,” Harry laughed.

“I can’t believe people actually do that. Like, go home. Fuck her in a bed,” Hailey laughed as she rolled completely onto her back.

“Right,” Harry agreed.

“That’s crazy,” she giggled.

“At least show the bird you care enough about her to take her back to your place and show her a good time,” he laughed, continuing on.

“Yeah, totally. Cook her breakfast in the morning, or something,” she joked.

“Eggs and bacon. Pancakes, waffles. Whatever, ya know,” Harry carried on the joke.

“Yes, please,” Hailey giggled.

“Oh, man. Seriously,” Harry sighed as his laughter died out.

“That’s how you treat your ladies, right Harry?” Hailey giggled, looking over at him through the dimness.

“Nah. I leave their house in the morning and stop at _Starbucks_ to get my best friend coffee and a muffin,” Harry quipped, nudging her under the covers. Hailey laughed out loud because that was exactly what he did after the night he slept with Emma for the first time – he came to _her_ house in the morning with _Starbucks_.

“You’re such a winner, Harry,” Hailey laughed.

“WINNING!” He yelled comically.

“Oh my god,” she laughed.

“How do you treat the guys you sleep with? Are you a _love ‘em and leave ‘em_ kind of girl?” Harry asked curiously.

“Uh, no,” she stated plainly.

“I bet you like to show a bloke a good time, huh?” He said, smirking wildly at her.

“Oh, man,” she said, feeling the blush creep up her cheeks again.

“Are you embarrassed?” He asked, poking at her side with his index finger.

“Stop it!” She screeched, swatting at his hand.

“Did I embarrass you, Hay-Hay? Did I?” He asked, continuing to poke at her repeatedly as she squealed and squirmed, trying to grab hold of his hands.

“STOP, HAROLD! Stop it!” She screeched.

“Okay. Okay, fine,” he laughed, stilling his hands once she wrapped her fingers around his wrists.

“Why do guys always use tickling as their go-to punishment for a girl?” Hailey scoffed as she let go of his wrists and he reclaimed his hands.

“Why? Is that what guys use on you for foreplay?” Harry smirked, trying to really get her to talk about her sex life.

“No. _God,_ ” she scoffed.

“Are you a foreplay kind of girl?” Harry asked, quirking his eyebrow at her.

“Stop it, Harry,” she giggled bashfully.

“I’m your best friend. You’re supposed to be able to talk about everything with your best friend,” he chuckled. He was out of his _god damn_ mind if that’s what he thought was about to happen, _for real_.

“I’m really into dominatrix’s and S&M. That kind of stuff. Black leather, whips and chains. Real _50 Shades of Grey_ type shit,” she joked, but kept a straight face.

“Are you really?” He asked, staring at her wide-eyed.

“No!” She laughed boisterously.

“I was gonna say, that’s kind of kinky, Hailz,” he laughed.

“Oh my god,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“No, for real though…” He started.

“ _For real_ , I’m ready to go to sleep,” she told him firmly.

“ _Hmm_ ,” he hummed.

“What?” She asked, looking over at him.

“I bet you are kinky though, Hailey. I can see that,” he said, smirking deviously at her.

“Oh my god!” She giggled uncomfortably.

“I bet you like giving as much as you like getting,” he continued, smirking at her.

“Can we not talk about this?” Hailey laughed, feeling more uncomfortable than ever before.

“I bet you love foreplay just as much as you like the sex itself. Maybe even more,” he continued, not stopping.

“ _Jesus_ , Harry. If your sober self could hear you now,” she scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, no. I’m not holding back anymore. Not with you,” he laughed.

“Oh,” she said, cocking an eyebrow, feeling rather intrigued.

“Nope. We’ve known each other long enough,” he said insistently.

“Good to know,” she said, trying to stifle the large smile on her face.

“Yup,” he said, snuggling up with the pillow once again.

“Well, I’m going to sleep. You go ahead and keep wondering,” she told him and cringed as the words came out of her mouth.

“Oh, I will,” he chuckled.

They both fell silent as they lay there in the darkness. She could not believe the turn the night took. She would have never guessed she’d end the night with Harry in her bed talking about sex. _Oh, dear god_.

A short while later she could hear Harry’s soft breathing and knew he had fallen asleep. It was sort of a relief. The sexual tension seemed to evaporate between them once he lost consciousness. She almost couldn’t handle it anymore. She soon relaxed and fell asleep herself.

Hailey woke up with Harry’s hand on her stomach, up underneath the fabric of her camisole. She was so confused at first with him just being in her bed, and then she got even more confused when she felt his fingers caressing the skin of her stomach. It was still mainly dark in the room, so she figured they hadn’t slept very long. It must have been around five am or so. She wasn’t entirely sure.

Goosebumps trailed all over her body as Harry continued caressing her stomach. _Oh, dear god_. What in the hell was going on? Was this something he did in his sleep? When she turned her head slightly to find his face, she realized it was inches away from hers. _Holy hell_. His eyes looked into hers and she froze. He was _awake_. He _knew_ what he was doing. He… he was touching _her_ …

Their eyes locked on one another’s for a few weighted moments. His fingers still idly trailed over her skin and she knew it wasn’t by accident. He knew _what_ he was doing and _who_ he was doing it to. Moments later, Harry leaned over and nuzzled his nose into her jaw, which sent a shiver through her entire body. She almost felt like throwing up. She couldn’t believe this was happening. _What was happening?_

Seconds later, his lips kissed her jaw and she was like a statue – she couldn’t move. She couldn’t concentrate on any one thing – not with him kissing her face and his hand moving further and further up her camisole. She knew if she tried to speak it would only come out as a whimper, so she didn’t bother.

When his kisses moved up her jaw line to her ear lobe, she just about died. What in the actual fuck was going on? Was this a joke? Was she dreaming? That was it, right? She was dreaming. That totally explained it. They were talking about sex before she fell asleep, so naturally she would have a sex dream about Harry, right? _RIGHT?_

Maybe she even dreamt the sex talk. Maybe she was just alone in her bed and dreamt up the whole thing with Harry. Yes, that had to be it. Harry was drunk in his own bed right now, not currently feeling up her bare breast and slowly, torturously kissing his way toward her lips. _Oh, good god_.

When their lips finally met, Hailey could swear, somewhere far, far away, a chorus of baby angels were singing just for them, just for that moment. As soon as he was kissing her, it was sort of like a primal instinct kicked in with her and she was kissing him back with just as much passion as he was. _Oh, god_. Dream or not, it was like a fantasy coming true.

Harry removed his hand from her shirt, only to pull her closer to him as she wrapped her arms around his body, pulling him to her. If it was a dream, she was going to live it to the fullest. If it was real life, well… she figured she would deal with the consequences later.

“Oh, god,” Hailey groaned as Harry’s mouth trailed down her neck and over her throat.

“You like foreplay, right?” Harry breathed against her skin.

“ _Mmm_ ,” she hummed.

“That’s what I thought,” Harry said, lifting up her shirt, pulling it over her head.

His mouth was on her in seconds, teasing her and torturing her with every squeeze, lick, and suckle. She was certain she was going to explode. Her hand came up to cover her mouth, stifling out a loud moan as he sucked on one of her nipples, while his thumb caressed the other.

“ _Fuck_ ,” Hailey breathed lowly when he switched his mouth and hand.

“Harry, oh my god,” she groaned, wondering how they even got there. _How did this happen?_

“ _Shhh_ ,” he hushed her as his mouth came up to kiss her once again.

She felt his hand begin to push down the waistband of her sweatpants and she silently squealed with delight, realizing now she wanted this more than she ever could have imagined. Only a fool would stop him, right?

Harry tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth before moving himself down her body, grasping onto the sides of her sweatpants. He pulled them down slowly as his kisses descended all the way down her abdomen to her nether regions.

“Harry, no… you don’t…” Hailey started to protest when she realized exactly what he was about to do.

He didn’t stop though. He pushed her legs open and positioned himself right between them. Hailey groaned out when his mouth and tongue met with her most delicate of areas.

“ _Jesus_ …” She moaned, gripping onto the bed sheets. _Oh, god. Oh, god. Oh, god._ It had to be a dream. Nothing was this perfect. And, _dear god_ , what a wonderful dream it was.

“Harry, _ohmygod-mmm_. Harry,” Hailey groaned as her body writhed because of him.

His stubble on his face was excruciatingly torturous as he fluidly moved his mouth and tongue over her. It was sending ripples of pleasure throughout her entire body and she almost couldn’t stand it. _God_ , was this everything she ever imagined when it came to Harry and herself in bed together? Further proof that it was all a dream. Nothing was ever _this_ perfect.

And then all of a sudden his mouth was off of her and she kept thinking, “well, this must be where the dream ends”. But it didn’t end. Harry hovered over her, looking down in her eyes.

“Hailey…” He breathed. Just the sound of her name coming out of his mouth in such an intimate way weakened her.

“ _Oh god_ , Harry. Just do it. Please,” she moaned.

Without a second to waste, Harry pulled off his underwear and was hovering above her again. His lips came down hard against hers and all she could do was kiss him back. She gasped out against his lips when he entered her and she just about died from the emotional connection she felt with him. Whether it was real or not, she knew it would heighten every feeling she ever had for him.

Harry buried his face in the nape of her neck as he slowly pushed himself in and out of her. She could hear his ragged, strained breathing and it was probably the sexiest thing she ever heard in her whole entire life.

“ _Oh, god_ ,” she whimpered as she wrapped her arms around his body, feeling every single rippling muscle in his back. _Dear fucking god_.

When his slow movements just weren’t enough for either of them, he pulled himself up, looking into her eyes and began a faster rhythm inside her at a new angle. Hailey’s breathing hitched and she couldn’t help the moan that fell from her lips. Harry leaned down to kiss her for a second, before pulling up and moving even faster yet.

“Oh, god. _Oh, god_ ,” she groaned, feeling every single inch of him.

The fact that he wasn’t saying anything, that he hadn’t said anything but her name, made her truly wonder if she were dreaming. Her imagination sure was thorough if it was – especially when her toes began to curl in and she felt the all-encompassing tingles of orgasm rippling through her.

“Hailey…” Harry breathed.

Her body was slowly relaxing from her high and she didn’t realize he was trying to get her attention.

“Hailey…” He groaned.

“ _Hmm_ ,” she hummed, barely even able to open her eyes. She was so fucking content.

“I’m gonna… I’m almost ready to...” He said as he continued to move inside her.

“Oh. Uh…” She stammered, her eyes widening quickly.

“I’m not wearing a condom,” he said breathlessly.

“Oh! Uh… I’m… I’m on birth control,” she said, snapping completely out of her daze.

Seconds later, his entire body spasmed and she knew he just came to his end… inside of her. A second later, as if he couldn’t hold himself up any longer, his body collapsed down on top of hers. She couldn’t move. She could only hold him against her, enjoying it completely. His face was snuggled up to her neck and she felt him leave a small kiss on it, which made her smile. Dream or not, it was perfect.

Hailey heard his breathing even out a little while later and knew he fell asleep. As best she could, she rolled him onto his side off of her and just laid there herself.

She tried to comprehend what just happened. In dreams, people didn’t usually remember the beginning or end of them – that’s how she knew it was real. What just happened with Harry was _real_. And it slowly dawned on her – Harry just cheated on his girlfriend, _with her_. The realization kept her up until the wee hours of the morning. She felt like a terrible person for letting such a thing happen. She wasn’t his _best_ friend, she was a _terrible_ friend.

Despite not getting to sleep easily, Hailey still woke up early, before Harry. She probably only slept four hours by the time she awoke. Harry was lying face down without covers over his body, completely naked and it made her feel all sorts of terrible all over again.

“Oh, god,” she breathed, wiping her hands down her face out of frustration.

She quietly pulled herself out of her bed and tip-toed to her closet to dress herself. She threw on clean undergarments and a clean pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. The least amount of skin she was showing, the better. Maybe he would just forget about everything. Maybe he thought it was all a dream too.

Hailey went to the kitchen and made coffee, trying to forget all about the night before. But it all came rushing back to her, over-whelming her in the process. Harry suspended over her, him saying her name, him _coming_ inside of her. She shook her head to dispel the thoughts. She was a despicable person. How could she actually let that happen? As much as she wanted it, how could she justify letting him cheat on his girlfriend?

She poured herself a cup of coffee and went to sit on the couch. She was in a complete daze and couldn’t stop staring at the wall. What the fuck was she going to do?

“Hey,” she heard Harry’s deep voice from behind her. She looked up to see him walking into the living room wearing his skinny jeans, but holding his shirt in his hand.

“Hey,” Hailey said quietly as she felt the blush rise up her cheek.

“I just talked to the landlord. He’s uh, he’s gonna let me into my flat,” Harry informed her.

“Okay,” she said quietly.

“Jagger and Bowie must be pissing all over themselves in the kennel,” Harry grumbled.

“Oh, poor babies…” Hailey gasped, having forgotten completely about the dogs.

“Yeah. I suck,” Harry said self-deprecatingly as he ran his fingers through his hair.

“They’ll forgive you,” she reassured him.

“Yeah… I hope so,” Harry said quietly, looking away from her.

There was a long drawn out silence between them before Harry focused on her again.

“I should… I should go,” he told her, pointing his thumb back at the front door.

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

“See you later, Hailey,” Harry said, giving her a small wave after he put his shirt and shoes back on.

“Bye, Harry,” she said quietly as Harry slipped out her apartment door.

And all she could think was Harry _really_ wasn’t the kind of guy to stick around for breakfast…

 

 

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	4. {Four}

Hailey and Harry didn’t necessarily see each other all the time in the year and a half they lived across the hall from each other. Sometimes there would be weeks when she wouldn’t even see his face. They did lead completely separate lives after all. And Harry was always busy, to no end. It was only in the past six months that they grew closer with each other. Before that they were really just passing faces in the hallway. A ‘hello’ here, a smile there. But from day one, Hailey had her eye on him.

She wasn’t going to pretend his natural attractiveness wasn’t the first thing that pulled her in, because it was. _Dear god_ , it was. The first time she saw him he was shirtless and sweaty, having just come back from a run. She just about died when this perfectly chiseled tattooed creature stepped into the elevator with her. She lost herself in him from the first second.

 

_“Hello,” he greeted, smiling politely at her. Her entire body tingled as she heard that beautiful British accent for the first time._

_“Hi,” she said awkwardly as the two of them stood side-by-side on the ride up to the third floor._

_When they both tried to get out of the elevator at the same time, Hailey just about died. She ran straight into his bare flesh._

_“Oh! I’m sorry,” she told him, backing away quickly, completely flustered._

_“Ladies first,” he said, smiling brightly at her._

_“Uh…” Hailey stammered, hesitating slightly._

_He just stood there smirking at her, so she took his invite and walked out of the elevator. And then he was following her… right after her. Except, he really wasn’t following her. He apparently lived right across the hall from her._

_“Oh. You’re my neighbor,” she heard him say as she unlocked her door._

_“Huh?” She asked, turning her head to look at him._

_“I live… right here,” he said, knocking his knuckle on his door._

_“That’s nice,” she said, smiling bashfully at him. ‘That’s nice?’ Her awkwardness was astounding._

_“I’m Harry,” he said, holding out his hand to shake hers._

_“Hailey,” she said, shaking his hand._

_“Hailey and Harry holding hands,” Harry said cryptically as they continued to shake hands. Hailey sent him a very odd look._

_“It was an alliteration. All H’s,” he said with a large smirk as she slowly pulled her hand back._

_“Oh, yeah. Ha,” she said, feeling awkward. Oh, hell. At least he was cute. And British._

_“Well, Hailey. It was nice to meet you,” he said, smiling at her._

_“Likewise. And don’t be surprised if I come knocking at your door for a cup of sugar,” she said, using her whole years quota of lame jokes in that one sentence._

_“Oh, yeah?” He chuckled, quirking his eyebrow at her. Okay, they were both big fucking dorks._

_“Yeah… cause we’re neighbors. And that’s what neighbors do… apparently…” She stammered, trying to explain her horrific attempt at a joke._

_“I got that,” he said, smirking at her._

_“Alright. Well, I’m gonna go stick my head in the oven now,” she said, pushing open her apartment door._

_“Sylvia Plath,” he chuckled._

_“Yeah,” she said staring at him, completely perplexed that a man of his caliber of hotness knew anything about Sylvia Plath._

_“I’ll see you later, Hailey,” he said, smirking at her._

_“Yeah, see you,” she said quietly as she watched him disappeared inside his own apartment._

 

To that day, it wasn’t a regular occurrence, seeing Harry. It happened when it happened and they were both content with it. When they needed each other they were always there, just right across the hall. But right now, _right now_ after the night they spent together, the entire universe was playing a fucking joke on her, she just knew it. She saw him _everywhere_.

They’d be leaving their houses at the same time. They’d meet in the hallway, unexpectedly. She’d be getting her mail and Harry would arrive back from walking Jagger and Bowie. And every time they saw each other, Harry smiled and joked around with her. He ensued in small talk, he told her little jokes or funny stories from his day. Nothing out of the ordinary. And that was the worst part. He completely disregarded what happened between them as if it never happened.

At first Hailey figured maybe he just didn’t remember. And in the beginning, she was completely okay with it. But lying awake at night over-analyzing everything made her realize that no matter how hard she pretended, or _he_ pretended for that matter, they both remembered. There was no way in hell he didn’t remember or that he could ever forget. His movements were so fluid and so perfect that she knew he was thinking with a clear head, that the alcohol was not impairing his judgment. His indifference to what happened was eating her alive inside. And it was only getting worse day-by-day.

Five days passed since Matt’s bachelor party. _Five agonizing days_. Hailey wanted to forget it so badly. She tried everything. She threw herself into her work, taking on extra projects just to keep her mind occupied. But nothing worked. Her boss loved the extra effort, but other than that, it was getting her nowhere.

After working almost all through the night, getting very little sleep, Hailey stopped by _Starbucks_ on her way into work. She felt like a zombie as she stood in line. She ordered her usual – an order in which Harry knew by heart and never needed to ask her – a venti vanilla bean Frappuccino blended crème.

After waiting what seemed like ages for her beverage, Hailey grabbed it and spun quickly to get out of the over-crowded coffee shop. That was of course when she ran straight into another person.

“Hailey?” She heard a sugary-sweet female’s voice.

When she looked up she saw the perfect blonde hair and blue eyes of Harry’s girlfriend, Emma.

“Oh my god. Emma!” Hailey gasped, wide-eyed and startled.

“Isn’t this funny? I’m just about to meet Harry here. Did you come here together?” She asked, looking around for him.

“What? No,” Hailey said, feeling her cheeks flush instantly.

“Oh. Well, how have you been?” Emma asked, smiling eagerly at Hailey.

“Uh, good. And you?” Hailey choked out.

“Never been better,” she said, smiling pleasantly.

Hailey watched as her eyes looked passed her and her smiled grew even larger. She knew just by her reaction that Harry just walked in and was probably walking straight toward them.

“Babe!” Emma cooed, beaming at him.

“Em… Hailey…” Harry said, looking rather uncomfortable as Hailey turned to look over at him.

“Look who I just ran into!” Emma giggled girlishly.

“I see that,” Harry said as Emma leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Hailey stared straight at him, narrowing her eyes at him to let him know she knew. She _knew_ his awkwardness was an admission of guilt – that he in fact remembered everything that happened between them and chose to keep it from his girlfriend. Hailey shook her head, thoroughly disappointed in Harry – and herself. It should have never happened.

“Listen. I should go,” Hailey said, smiling as pleasantly as she could at Emma.

“Are you sure? You could join us,” Emma said cheerfully.

“Oh, no. I’ve got to get to work. But, thank you,” she told her.

“It was good to see you, Hailey,” Emma said, embracing her in a hug. And Hailey felt sickened by it.

She felt sickened that she ever let things go so far with Harry. Emma deserved better than that. She was so genuine it made Hailey look like a complete phony.

“Bye, Hailz,” Harry said quietly.

“Yeah. Bye,” she said, barely looking at him before she headed off toward the door.

Hailey couldn’t get it out of her mind for the rest of the day. Harry was contently living a charade. He slept with Hailey, but in order to keep his perfect little relationship, he didn’t come clean with Emma. Then she realized, it wasn’t her who was the phony, it was Harry.

After a horrible day at work, Hailey couldn’t wait to get home. And of course, just as she was checking her mailbox for that days post, Harry walked straight into the building. _Jesus fucking Christ._

“Hailey!” He said, sounding startled.

She turned to look over at him, feeling startled as well. She was like a deer in headlights. She didn’t want to acknowledge his presence, but when he snuck up on her like that, she didn’t stand a chance of keeping up with the cold shoulder bit.

“Hey…” He said quietly.

“Hi,” she said, pursing her lips together, turning back to lock up her mailbox.

“Just getting home from work?” He asked, unlocking the main door with his key.

“Yep,” she said flatly.

He held the door open for her, letting her pass through it. She walked straight to the elevator and pushed the button to go up. Determined to ignore him as best she could, she stood facing the elevator watching the numbers as it moved floors. Harry came to stand right next to her, looking over at her. She continued to ignore him. The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Hailey stepped inside and waited as he stepped inside himself. When the elevator door closed, he sighed.

“What’s going on, Hailey?” He asked quietly.

“Nothing,” she said, trying to act nonchalant.

“Yeah. Seems like it,” he scoffed.

Hailey rolled her eyes, feeling her blood start to boil. Of course he fucking knew what was going on. He was the one who chose to act so fucking oblivious to everything, not her. It was _screaming_ at her – the big fucking elephant in the room. But she didn’t say anything. She let the elevator take them on their ride to the third floor. Hailey waited patiently as the doors slid open. And she didn’t even hesitate stepping out of it, knowing Harry learned his lesson and always let ‘ladies first’.

“Hailey,” he said under his breath as she stalked down the hallway to her door.

“You’re upset,” he pointed out as she began unlocking her door. It startled her how close he was to her.

“I’m not upset,” she said finally, pulling her key out of the lock.

“Why can’t you even look at me?” He asked and she made it a point to turn to face him, staring him in the eye – a blank expression and everything.

“Look…” He started.

Hailey sighed and ran her fingers through her hair, growing even more impatient by the second.

“What?” He asked, furrowing his brow.

“Nothing,” she said with a shrug, her attitude thick.

“Tell me again how you’re not upset,” he snapped, pursing his lips together impatiently.

“FINE! I’m upset!” She conceded, throwing her hands up, taking a step back from him.

“Hailey…” Harry sighed.

“We had sex, Harry! We had _sex_. And you’ve been completely ignoring that fact since it happened,” she said, unable to meet his eye.

“I wasn’t ignoring it,” he said quietly.

“Parading your perfect, _oblivious_ girlfriend around _Starbucks_ really shows me you aren’t completely disregarding the whole entire thing!” Hailey yelled sarcastically at him.

“Hailey…” Harry said evenly.

“It’s was _you_ , Harry! YOU! You started it. I woke up and you… you…” Hailey stammered. She was angry. And when she got angry, she usually cried. But she was trying her _god damn_ hardest _not_ to cry.

“I know,” he said quietly.

“And I knew you remembered. I _knew_ ,” she continued, pointing her finger at him.

“I did,” he said with a nod.

“And, god! Emma! _GOD!”_ Hailey growled.

“Hailey…”

“I should have never let you… I should have stopped you…” She said, completely losing herself in her own mind.

“Hailey…”

“I should have slept on the god damn couch,” she told him.

“Hailey…”

“This was so stupid. You’re with Emma. _God!_ You suck, Harry! Why would you lie to her like that? Why wouldn’t you be honest with her!?” Hailey growled, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Hailey, just…” He said, but she cut him off again.

“You really, _really_ suck!” She told him.

“Just shut up,” he snapped, his voice rising to cut her off. With his words, Hailey stopped, her eyes staring into his feeling absolutely dumbfounded.

“Just shut up,” he said quieter, calmer.

“God. Why do I even bother?” Hailey scoffed, turning to go into her apartment. _What an ass_.

“I told her,” Harry said, stopping her in her tracks.

“What?” Hailey asked, turning back to him.

“It was the first time I saw her all week – at _Starbucks_ ,” he explained.

“What?” Hailey asked again.

“I met her at _Starbucks_ so we could talk. I told her what happened,” he told her.

“Oh,” Hailey said quietly, feeling sick to her stomach.

For some reason, all of a sudden it mattered to her what Emma thought of her and she didn’t want to be the girl who slept with another girl’s boyfriend – thus breaking the heart of possibly the sweetest girl in the world.

“She doesn’t know it was you,” Harry explained.

“What?” Hailey choked out.

“I just… I told her it was someone she didn’t know,” Harry said quietly, looking down at the floor.

“Why would you do that?” Hailey asked, her gaze focused on his long eyelashes.

“Because I thought it would be easier on her… and you. This way she can hate me instead of focusing on you,” Harry explained.

“It shouldn’t have happened, Harry,” Hailey cringed.

“I know,” he said softly.

“I just… I…” Hailey stammered.

“I tried to keep it from getting awkward between us, Hailz. I tried to show you we could still… you know, be friends. I mean, right? We can still be friends, can’t we?” He asked, looking hopeful.

She looked up into his pleading eyes and she knew it was something he was desperate for. And she was desperate for it too.

“Yeah… we can still be friends,” she told him with a nod.

“Do you mean that?” He asked.

“Yeah, Harry. Let’s just… let’s just put it behind us,” she told him, letting him take the easy way out, because she wanted it too.

“Good. Cause, Hailz…” He started.

“What?” She asked, looking up into his eyes.

“Now that Emma broke up with me, I need a date to Matt’s wedding,” he said with a devilish smirk.

“Oh my god,” Hailey said, smiling and shaking her head.

“Please, Hailey. _Please_ ,” he whined.

“You’re ridiculous,” she said, rolling her eyes.

“Oh, come on. Free road trip up to Lake Tahoe. I’ll pay for everything,” he told her.

“Harry, that’s _this_ weekend. As in two days from now,” she pointed out.

“I know, but come on. It’ll be fun,” he whined.

Hailey stared at him contemplating just exactly what was being asked of her. And it wasn’t a good idea. Not with these stupid relentless feelings for him. No, it wasn’t a good idea at all.

“Fine,” she said, giving in completely.

“THANK YOU!” He yelped, quickly wrapping her into a hug.

For some reason, in the battle of head vs. heart, Hailey always choose the path of _most_ destruction. And she only had herself to blame.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **It would be so lovely of you to leave a kudos on this story and even lovelier of you to leave a review or a comment. I really appreciate everything!! xo**


	5. {Five}

“Hailey!” She heard Harry yell through her apartment door right before he began pounding on it.

She was standing in her bedroom, hovering over her suitcase, wondering why in the hell she let herself get suckered into being Harry’s date for his friend’s wedding. It was really _not_ a good idea. Especially because when she looked at Harry all she saw was like, _magic_ or something. But then, when he looked at her, what did he get? A scared girl, too afraid to tell him how she really felt because the thought of being rejected by him outweighed the desire that she felt for him. And why was that? It was because Harry Styles scared the shit out of her.

“HAILEY! We have to go!” She heard him again.

She bit at her thumbnail, turning her head toward her open bedroom door. She could pretend she wasn’t home, couldn’t she? He’d be forced to go without her. Except he knew she was home. And to add to it, he had some sort of buddy-buddy relationship with their landlord. He’d probably call the guy and make him unlock her door for him. Harry was clever. She wasn’t about to outwit him. Not when it came to this.

Realizing that fleeing would be futile, Hailey zipped up her small suitcase and pulled it off the bed. She _did_ promise him after all.

“I’m coming!” She shouted back at his incessant pounding and whining.

Whipping open the door, she saw Harry standing there eyeing her impatiently with his hands extended against her door frame wearing an electric blue palm tree shirt that would give Jimmy Buffet a run for his money.

“Christ, Hailey. Didn’t you hear me knocking?” He said as his lips curved up into a smirk.

“The entire complex heard you,” Hailey grumbled.

“Let’s go. The lads are waiting,” Harry told her, waving his hand through the air.

“The lads?” She asked as Harry took hold of her suitcase handle.

“Yeah. Lads… blokes… guys…” Harry explained to her and she rolled her eyes.

“I meant, ‘lads’ as in traveling companions you told me nothing about,” Hailey elaborate.

“It’s just Niall and some other mates,” Harry told her, sending her an odd look.

“So, we’re driving up with them?” She asked, feeling slightly shanghaied that she was forced to be the third, or fourth, or fifth wheel in this adventure.

“Yeah. But don’t worry. We get the back seat all to ourselves,” Harry told her, bobbing his eyebrows suggestively.

“Keep your hands to yourself,” Hailey said, sounding half playful, half completely serious. The last thing she needed was for the lines to get blurred again. Harry let out a boisterous laugh.

“What? These hands?” Harry asked, wiggling them in her face.

“Those very hands,” she confirmed, smirking at him.

“Not me, Hailey!” He gasped dramatically.

“Mm-hmm,” she snickered as she locked her apartment door and followed him down the hallway to the elevator.

_Niall and some other mates_ consisted of Niall and three other friends of Harry’s – Liam, Louis, and Josh. They were riding in an SUV for eight hours with four other guys? _What even_.

“Really, Harry?” Hailey questioned, eyeing him as Niall shoved their bags in the back with the others.

“What?” He asked, smirking at her playfully.

“You were really going to bring Emma up to the wedding with four of your friends?” She asked, looking more than a little unamused.

“No. She’d hate it. But you’re like one of the lads, Hailey. I thought you’d like this,” he chuckled.

“Yeah. _Awesome_ ,” she said as she got into the vehicle, piling into the back. She was just _‘one of the lads’_ …

“Shut it and enjoy yourself,” Harry said, pushing her butt so she practically fell into the backseat.

“Ass!” Hailey laughed, smacking him lightly, once she was fully seated. He just laughed as he took his own seat.

“This is going to be fun, Hailz. You’ll see,” he said, patting her knee. Hailey eyed his hand and then looked up at him.

“What did I say about those hands?” She said, sending him a sideways smirk.

“ _Shit_ ,” he said, lifting both his hands up defensively in front of him as he laughed.

“That’s more like it,” she chuckled.

“Harry, keep your hands to yourself,” they heard Niall bark playfully back at him.

“Sorry, _Dad_ ,” Harry called up to him, causing Hailey to laugh.

Hailey thought to herself, that maybe it wasn’t going to be so bad after all. She did enjoy Harry’s friends. They were pretty good dudes.

Three hours into their eight hour road trip, and many farts, burps and a countless array of other disgusting behaviors, Hailey wasn’t feeling as optimistic about everything. She just wanted to get out of the fucking car. Her whole body hurt from lack of use and she really, sincerely had to pee. But Niall was determined to get there as fast as they could, so breaks were few and far between.

“You okay, Hailz?” Harry asked, looking up from his iPad.

“Mmm…” She said, shrugging her shoulders.

“What’s the matter?” He asked, looking concerned.

“Nothing. I mean, I’m just a little uncomfortable,” she told him truthfully.

“Uncomfortable, how?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“My body,” she said, trying get comfortable in her seat. His eyebrows furrowed.

“I just… I don’t know. Sitting for long periods of time is hard,” she huffed.

“I have a pillow and a blanket in the back here. You can… you can use them if you want. You know… to get comfortable. Maybe you can even nap,” he told her optimistically.

Hailey nodded and Harry smiled, immediately digging in the back for his pillow and blanket.

“Here,” he said, throwing the blanket on her head on purpose.

“Thanks, _ass_ ,” she scoffed with a laugh as she pulled the blanket off of her.

“Here,” he said, swatting her in the back of the head playfully with the pillow.

“Fucker,” she shot at him. He laughed as he reached over to mess up her hair.

“HARRY!” She gasped.

“HAILEY!” He mimicked.

“Sometimes I really hate you,” she said, narrowing her eyes at him as she smoothed out her hair.

“Ha! Yeah right,” he laughed.

“What is that supposed to mean?” She scoffed, narrowing her eyes at him.

“You love me! I’m your best friend,” he said, making a funny face at her.

“Doesn’t mean I don’t hate you. Like _now!”_ She said, giving him the stink-eye.

“Oh, Hailz!” He said, wrapping his arms around her tightly, causing her to yelp as she tried to squirm away from him.

“I can’t breathe!” She gasped.

“Hailey, you need to just admit it. You’d be lost without me,” Harry laughed.

“Keep dreaming!” She scoffed.

“You know, you’re really starting to hurt my feelings,” he said, letting her go as he gave her a sad face.

“What? Does your ego need a boost?” She laughed, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Mmm… maybe,” he said, smiling at her.

“You’re ridiculous,” she said, bunching the pillow up against the window so she could rest against it.

“Give me back my pillow!” He said and ripped it out of her grasp.

“Harry!” Hailey laughed.

“And my blanket!” He said, grabbing that too.

“You’re a big baby,” she laughed.

“I’ve never argued otherwise,” he said, smirking at her.

“You’re really not going to share?” She asked him, jutting out her bottom lip.

“Here,” he said, putting the pillow up against his side.

“I was just going to lean against the window,” she said, eyeing him skeptically.

“You can lean against me. That way you can lay down,” he told her.

“Uhh…” She stammered, feeling a bit out of control with her emotions.

“Lay down,” he coaxed.

“Fine,” she conceded, rolling her eyes and did as he demanded.

It was weird being in that position with him. It was incredibly intimate, even though there were four other guys in the car. But Hailey was pretty certain Josh and Louis were passed out in the middle two seats and didn’t give a fuck what was going on or _not_ going on in the backseat.

As Harry went back to doing whatever he was doing on his iPad, Hailey tried to get comfortable. Surprisingly it was not that hard and soon she felt Harry’s arm slip around her, resting on her stomach. At first, it made her a little uncomfortable, thinking about how she woke up with his hand on her stomach when they slept together. But she relaxed enough when she realized Harry only placed it there for lack of other places to put it.

When Hailey opened her eyes again, it was very dim in the car. The sun was setting and she was confused on just how long she had been asleep. The confusion was officially wiped away when she felt Harry’s fingers trail over the skin of her abdomen. _Again?_ _Really?_ Her breathing hitched as memories of their night together ravaged her mind, _again_. And suddenly there was this heat burning within her, thinking about him in that context. She _needed_ to expel those thoughts. She _needed_ to stop having these feelings.

Hailey sat up abruptly, trying to get away from him and his torturous hand that was doing so little, but _so much_ to her.

“Whoa, there,” Harry said, looking at her a bit startled.

“Oh my god,” Hailey said, holding her head as the vertigo hit her fast.

“You okay?” He chuckled, eyeing her skeptically.

“I’m fine,” she snapped, but honestly didn’t know why she did. Her emotions felt out of control.

“Fine, then,” he said with a bit of attitude.

Hailey settled herself into her rightful seat, making sure no body part of hers was touching any of Harry’s.

“You missed it. We stopped for gas. But I didn’t want to wake you. You looked so peaceful,” Harry told her with a smirk.

“What!? Harry!” Hailey gasped. She’d been wanting to get out and stretch since they got into the damn vehicle. And not to mention, she _still_ had to pee.

“I’m just kidding,” he laughed out loud.

“Fuck you,” Hailey snapped, shoving him as she sent a glare to him.

“Oh my god. You should have seen your face,” he laughed, pointing at her.

“I don’t think it was funny, at all,” she said, giving him the evil eye.

“It was so funny,” he laughed almost uncontrollably.

“I hate you,” Hailey sneered, looking away from him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Oh, Hailey,” Harry said, throwing his arm around her.

“Don’t touch me, Harry,” she scowled.

“We’re stopping soon, beautiful,” he chuckled as she pushed his arm off of her.

“Don’t call me ‘beautiful’,” she snapped and he just laughed.

“You’re quite sexy when you’re cranky,” he told her, snickering to himself.

“Harry! Shut up!” Hailey yelled at him and he laughed even more.

“ _God,”_ Hailey growled under her breath. He was so _annoying_.

When Niall finally pulled up to a gas station and parked the vehicle, Hailey got out of the car as soon as possible and walked straight to the bathroom. She had to get away from Harry. Everything about him was annoying her. And _god_ , she knew it was because everything was so fucked up between them. Why did he have to say stuff like that? He shouldn’t be allowed to call her sexy. _Ever._ Not unless he really meant it. Which he didn’t.

Hailey went to the bathroom and washed her face. She felt a little better afterward, taking in a cleansing breath before she left the bathroom. She met up with the guys in the adjoining McDonalds as they were all standing in line to order food.

“Are you okay?” Harry asked Hailey with a smirk on his face.

“I’m fine,” she said, avoiding his eyes.

“You sure?” He asked and she could feel his stare.

“I’m fine, Harry,” she snapped.

“Fine,” he huffed.

Hailey didn’t involve herself in their conversation as they ate. She just kept to her crabby self. She was the first to finish eating since she didn’t have much of an appetite, so she went outside to stretch her legs a bit. That was when she realized Louis was out there smoking a cigarette. She didn’t even notice that he wasn’t with the rest of them in McDonalds.

“Hello, love,” he said before he took a drag of his cigarette.

“Hey,” Hailey said quietly, leaning up against the SUV near him.

The sunset was beautiful. Pinks and oranges and yellows streaking across the sky.

“You’re not going to eat?” Hailey asked him, for lack of better things to say.

“Nah. I’m not hungry,” he shrugged.

“Ah,” she said, nodding her head. She felt a bit awkward because she didn’t know Harry’s friends that well. She only met them on a couple of occasions.

“So, you’re Harry’s neighbor, right?” He asked, looking over at her.

“Yeah. I live across the hall from him,” she told him.

“I was expecting Harry to come with Emma,” Louis said, giving her a sideways look.

“Yeah. They’re… they’re done,” Hailey said awkwardly, remembering _why_ they were done.

“I got that much. Heard he cheated on her,” Louis said, taking another drag of the cigarette.

“Uh, yeah,” Hailey said awkwardly.

“With you,” Louis said, catching her completely off guard.

“What?” She choked out, looking at him wide-eyed. Louis chuckled at her reaction.

“You think he’s gonna keep that kind of information to himself?” Louis asked, cocking his brow at her.

“He… he told you?” She choked out.

“Well, it’s not like he was going around _bragging_ about it or anything. He needed someone to talk to, I guess,” Louis shrugged.

“Well, that was nice of you to bring it up,” Hailey laughed awkwardly as the blush creeping up her cheeks nearly ate her alive.

“Did I make you uncomfortable?” He chuckled, smirking at her.

“Just a little bit,” she said awkwardly.

“So, what? You don’t like Harry like that? He’s a good bloke, Hailey,” Louis told him, trying to talk his friend up.

“It’s not that. I mean, it just… we’d just… we… I don’t know,” Hailey stammered, not even really knowing what to say. No matter how many times she fantasized about Harry, she never really thought she’d ever have a real chance with him. It just wasn’t plausible.

“Well said,” Louis joked, letting out a laugh.

“God, I don’t know. Neither one of us are looking for anything. And we’ve both pretty much decided to never let it happen again,” she explained. She really didn’t know why she was talking about it with one of Harry’s friends – as if Louis wouldn’t go straight to Harry and tell him everything.

“Well, that’s a mistake,” Louis said evenly.

“What?” Hailey asked, looking up to find all the other guys walking toward them.

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Niall bellowed at them.

Hailey was too busy wondering what the hell Louis meant to even comprehend that she was about to squeeze back into the backseat with Harry.

“Come on. Only a few more hours,” Harry said, putting his hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the door of the vehicle.

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

Hailey crawled in and immediately put her iPod on, ignoring Harry and his stupid beautiful face. She fell asleep again not long after, but this time away from Harry. When she finally woke up, they were arriving at the hotel resort in Tahoe City, California. Harry checked them in and then guided Hailey to the elevators. She was so tired and out of it, she just wanted to pass out. Tomorrow was the big day. She was going to be Harry’s date to his friend’s wedding.

“Where’s my room key?” Hailey asked, holding her hand out as they rode the elevator up.

“What do you mean?” Harry asked, looking at her oddly.

“My room key. Give it,” she said, impatiently wiggling her fingers at him.

“I only got one key,” he told her.

“One key?” She asked, looking over at him like he had two heads or something.

“Yeah. One key,” he said, dangling it in front of her face.

“One key?” She repeated.

“Yeah, Hailey. One key. What are you not understanding?” He asked impatiently as he stepped out of the elevator. Hailey was frozen inside of it. _One_ key meant… _one_ room.

“Are you coming?” He asked, looking back at her.

Without a word, Hailey moved out of the elevator, almost getting crushed by the doors as they tried to shut. She felt every single nerve in her body heighten as she followed Harry down to what was apparently _their_ hotel room door. Their _one_ door to the _one_ room they’d apparently be sharing.

Harry unlocked the door and let her in first, pulling in her suitcase behind her. She scoffed immediately at what she saw.

“What?” Harry asked impatiently.

“Are you kidding me right now, Harry?” She asked, turning back to see if he was playing some sort of prank on her. Harry narrowed his eyes at her as he let the door close behind him.

“What? I’m tired. I don’t have the patience for this cryptic shit, Hailey,” Harry snapped. Nope, apparently it wasn’t a prank.

“One bed?” She asked, looking around the room. There wasn’t even a couch. There were two chairs and table, but no couch.

“Yeah, well. I was coming up here with Emma, now wasn’t I?” He said, setting his bag down on the dresser.

Hailey sighed heavily. She knew all too well what happens when the two of them spend the night in a bed together. She didn’t know if she could handle it again.

“Is it too much for you?” He asked with a tone of annoyance.

“No, no. But I’m not the one who couldn’t handle myself before,” she said bitterly, causing Harry to scoff loudly.

“I’m sober. Believe me when I say, you’re safe,” he spat at her meanly. His words shot straight through her like a knife to the heart and she felt the sting of tears almost immediately.

“Wow,” Hailey said under her breath as she opened her suitcase and dug around for her pajamas. She was doing everything she could to dam her tears. She did not want Harry to see her cry.

“Hailey. I didn’t mean it the way it came out,” Harry said, his voice softening.

“No, it’s fine,” she shot at him as she furiously dug through her belongings.

“Hailey…” He said quietly.

“It’s fine, Harry!” She shouted at him as she zipped up her bag and pulled it with her to the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Hailey!” Harry sighed loudly.

_Well, fuck him_.


	6. {Six}

After dressing and brushing her teeth, Hailey reluctantly came out of the bathroom, dragging her suitcase with her. Harry was already in the bed, sitting up watching TV. His bare tattooed chest was gaping at her and she tried her best to avoid all eye contact with him _and_ his well-chiseled body.

“Hailey…” Harry said immediately, watching her.

“Just… whatever, Harry,” she said as she propped her suitcase up against the wall.

“I didn’t… I didn’t mean it like it sounded,” he told her again.

“I don’t even care,” she snapped, lying completely. He knew it, she knew it.

“Hailey,” Harry sighed heavily.

“I’m tired and I just want to go to bed,” she told him finally, hoping he would just shut up.

“I don’t want you to be angry with me,” he said as she walked toward the bed and got under the covers on the opposite side of Harry.

“I’m not upset,” she said, lying down with her back to him, successfully keeping her eyes off of him.

“Usually when a girl says she’s not upset, it really means she is,” Harry sighed and Hailey scoffed lightly.

“Perceptive,” she mumbled under her breath, causing Harry to sigh again.

“I’m really sorry,” he apologized.

“For what?” She grumbled, staring at the wall, trying not to cry again.

“For everything. For what I said… for what I _did_ ,” he said quietly.

Hailey closed her eyes tightly feeling the pain in her heart. She didn’t want him to apologize for their night together. She didn’t want it to be just some colossal mistake he made. At the very least, she didn’t want him to regret it. In his own mind, it may have not been the soundest decision he made, but she never wanted him to regret it.

“Hailey…” He said again.

“What, Harry?” She asked, really trying to fight off the tears.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

“Yeah,” she said quietly.

“Can we… can we just put this behind us?” He asked, sounding hopeful.

“Yeah,” she choked out as the first tear slipped down her cheek.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

Hailey pulled the blankets up tighter to her chest as she lay there trying to think of something, _anything_ else to keep her from crying. She didn’t want to cry in there with him. She didn’t want him to know how much his words affected her, how much they tore into her.

A few moments later, Harry shut off the lights and TV, settling down next to her in bed. For a while Hailey lay there letting the tears fall silently, unable to hold them back.

“Hailey, I didn’t mean it,” Harry whispered through the darkness.

“I know,” she told him quietly.

Harry left it at that and they both eventually fell asleep.

 

Hailey woke up the next morning determined to put the whole thing behind her. She slipped out of bed and immediately got into the shower. Harry would be waking up soon and he’d need to get ready too, so she did them both a favor and got a head start. When she got out of the shower, Harry was awake calling in a breakfast order.

“Ooh, pancakes!” Hailey said quickly.

“And I’ll get an order of…” Harry said in the receiver.

“Chocolate chip!” She added in.

“Chocolate chip pancakes,” Harry said, smiling at her as he relayed the message to the person on the other line.

“And milk!” She added.

“And milk,” Harry told the person.

“Anything else?” Harry asked her, placing his hand on the receiver of the telephone.

“Bacon,” she said, biting her bottom lip.

“Just like, a ton of bacon,” Harry said to the person.

“Alright, thank you,” Harry said and hung up the phone.

“I’m glad I caught you. I am starving,” she sighed, rubbing her stomach.

“I pretty much ordered one of everything. I would have shared,” he said, smirking at her.

“Glad to hear,” she said, smirking back at him as she hung up her garment bag that held her dress for the wedding.

“What’s it look like?” Harry asked, eyeing the hanging bag.

“What?” She asked, looking over at him.

“Your dress,” he said, smirking at her from the bed.

“It’s a dress,” she told him playfully.

“Well, is it going to go with my tux?” He chuckled.

“With your black and white tux? I’m pretty sure anything will go with your _black and white_ tux, Harry,” Hailey giggled. He rolled his eyes at her and got out of the bed.

“I’m going to shower. One of the blokes is bringing my tux by soon. If it gets here… or the food, will you please answer the door?” Harry asked, walking to the bathroom in only his boxer briefs.

“If it’s anything else, I’ll make sure _not_ to answer the door,” she giggled.

“You know what I mean,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her playfully.

“Get outta here. You smell funny,” she giggled as he laughed and shut the bathroom door.

It wasn’t long after Harry got in the shower that there was a knock on the door.

“Special delivery,” she heard Louis’ voice through the door. Hailey smirked as she pulled open the door.

“Hello, love,” Louis greeted, smirking at her.

“Good morning,” she countered with a smile.

“I’ve got Harold’s tux,” he said, holding up a large garment bag.

“Uh, I guess you can hang it up over there,” she said, pointing to where her dress was hanging.

“Brilliant,” he said, walking into the room.

When he turned around after hanging up the bag, she watched as his eyes took in the messy bed before he looked up at her with a wide smirk.

“Told you it was a bad idea to ignore it,” he said knowingly.

“Oh. No, no, no,” she said, shaking her head.

“Not my business,” he chuckled, holding his hands up in front of him.

“No, we didn’t… this room was for… him and Emma…” Hailey stammered.

“Not asking questions,” Louis chuckled as he moved toward the door.

“Nothing happened,” she added.

“I don’t need an explanation,” Louis said as he headed out the door.

“But—” Hailey started, but he was already on his way.

The door shut with a loud thud and Hailey was just standing there in the silence. Except it wasn’t entirely silent. She could hear the shower water and she could also hear Harry’s shower time rendition of ‘Going to the Chapel’.

 _“Going to the chapel and we’re gonna get married…”_ He belted out.

“Oh my god,” Hailey giggled to herself.

A moment later, she was startled by another knock on the door.

“I swear, Louis—” She said, pulling the door open. But it wasn’t Louis. It was room service with an entire cart full of food.

“Hello, Miss. I have an order for Mr. Harry Styles,” the woman said, smiling pleasantly at Hailey.

“Oh, Jesus. He wasn’t kidding when he said he ordered one of everything,” Hailey said wide-eyed, looking at all the food – which could very well be its own all-you-can-eat buffet. Maybe that’s what he was going for.

“Where would you like it?” She asked with a smirk, trying but failing to keep her professional manner.

“Over by the table will be okay, I think,” Hailey told her.

As she watched the lady push the cart in, Hailey remembered it was customary to tip for room service, so she grabbed for her wallet. Except she had no cash.

“Hold on, one moment,” she told the woman.

Hailey grabbed Harry’s wallet off the nightstand and opened it up. Along with a massive wad of cash was small silver package – a condom. _Hmm_. Looked as if Mr. Styles was looking for a little _something-something_ tonight with an unsuspecting female companion. Obviously it wasn’t meant for her. He didn’t bother with a condom before. Why would it matter now?

Hailey rolled her eyes, pulling out a twenty dollar bill and slamming his wallet shut. Was twenty too much for a tip? Oh well, she didn’t care.

“Here you go,” Hailey said, handing it to her.

“Miss…” She said, looking awkwardly at the money and then at her.

“Take it. He’s good for it,” Hailey said, smiling politely at her.

“Thank you very much. That is quite generous,” she said with a wide smile, giving Hailey a nod before she left the room.

Where the hell was Harry going to take this woman who he thought he was going to fool around with? Not in their hotel room. _Oh, no_. And what the fuck? He has a date. She was his date. _Disrespectful._

“Ooh, food,” Harry said, coming out of the bathroom a moment later.

He startled her and she quickly spun in her chair in his direction. He was wrapped from the waist down in a towel, but nothing else. His skin was glistening and _fuck_ , he was so excruciatingly beautiful. She literally almost groaned at the sight of him.

“I see you’ve attacked the bacon already,” he chuckled.

Hailey looked down in her hand where a half-eaten strip of it was in her hand. Then she looked down at the plate and realized she had indeed eaten her fair share. She must have lost herself in thought as she ate it.

“Hungry. I was hungry,” she mumbled, turning back toward the table.

“Don’t turn around. I’m gonna drop the towel,” he warned her.

“ _Oh_ ,” she choked out.

“Or… whatever. You’ve seen it anyway,” he added. _Oh, god_. She couldn’t quite remember if she _actually_ saw him completely naked the night they were together. It was inside of her, but she didn’t think she actually ever saw it.

“No. Oh, no. I’ll just… I’ll eat… the food,” she said, feeling incredibly flustered that he was getting naked in the same room as her.

Her body stayed entirely rigged and stiff staring at the plate in front of her, until he walked over to the table wearing grey sweat pants and a white v-neck.

“This looks amazing,” he said, sitting in the chair opposite of her.

“Yeah. Totally,” she said quietly, unable to really look up at him. She felt so awkward.

“Did you eat too much bacon?” He asked, smirking at her.

“What?” She questioned, finally looking up at him.

“You haven’t touched your chocolate chip pancakes,” he pointed out.

“Oh! Ha. I… yeah…” Hailey stammered, grabbing her knife and fork to dig in.

Harry looked at her oddly, before shaking it off and digging into his own food.

“Eat whatever you’d like,” he said with a mouthful of food.

“Yeah,” she said with a nod as she put a piece of pancake in her mouth.

After the two of them ate, they knew they really needed to get ready to go down to the wedding venue. Hailey took the bathroom and Harry got ready in the room. Once she was fully dressed and made up, she walked out of the bathroom only to find Harry struggling with his tie by the mirror. She couldn’t help but smile at the sight of him.

“Need some help?” She asked, watching him from behind. He turned around with a smile, but it dropped off his face at the sight of her.

“Hailey…” He said quietly as his eyes roamed over her.

“What?” She asked, looking down at her dress, afraid something was wrong with it.

“You look… you look amazing,” he told her.

“Stop it,” she said, waving off his compliment.

“No, I’m serious. _Wow,_ ” he said as his eyes dipped down her body again.

“Shut up,” she said, feeling the hot blush creep up her face.

“When I was picturing your dress, I never pictured a _sexy_ little black dress,” he said, smirking wildly at her.

“Shut up, seriously. Here. Let me help you with your tie,” she said, walking swiftly over to him. She wanted the attention off of her because it made her feel uncomfortable. She quickly grabbed onto his tie and started tying it for him.

“You’re good at this,” he said, smirking at her.

“Uh, my dad… he’s a suit kind of guy. He taught me. He always told me it would be an invaluable thing to know for when I got married,” she said, smiling lightly at him.

“Or when somebody else is getting married,” Harry smirked.

“Right,” she said, smoothing out the silky tie when she finished.

“Thanks, Hailz,” Harry told her with a big goofy grin.

“You’re welcome,” she said, backing away to find her purse and heels.

Hailey watched out of the corner of her eye as Harry pulled on his suit jacket. He looked wonderful all dressed up like that. It wasn’t fair that he could wear just about anything and be über attractive and appealing. Her eyes and heart needed a break.

“Are you ready?” Harry asked, looking over at her.

“Yeah,” she said, pulling on her heels quickly, grabbing up her clutch purse.

“Shall we?” He asked, holding out his arm for her.

“We shall,” she nodded, linking her arm with his as the two of them walked toward the door.

The wedding site was on the grounds of the resort they were staying at so they only had to take the elevator down to the lobby and they were met with people from the party. Harry and all his friends they drove up with were all groomsmen with matching tuxedos. And they all looked absolutely flawless.

“ _Christ_ , lady. I didn’t know you had it in you,” Louis said as his eyes darted up and down Hailey’s body.

“What?” Hailey asked, a bit confused.

“You are on _fire_. Smokin’ hot,” he laughed.

“Oh. Thanks,” she chuckled uncomfortably as a blush ravished her face.

“Are you hitting on my date, Louis?” Harry asked with a slight chuckle.

“Maybe,” Louis said, winking at Hailey.

The early afternoon consisted of pretty much Hailey waiting around while everyone else around her was busy doing something in preparation for the wedding. Hailey felt completely out of place. She didn’t really know anyone except Harry, and he was preoccupied with groomsmen things. There was one other groomsmen beside the guys, but Hailey didn’t know who he was. All she knew was that he was a good looking dude. A very, _very_ good looking dude. He was blonde and tan and carried himself confidently and it surprised the hell out of Hailey when she kept catching his eye when she looked over at him.

She knew she needed to chill out, so she went over to the open bar and ordered a chardonnay to keep herself from looking in his direction. She needed to stop. _Really_. Just… _ugh_.

“Hi, there,” Hailey heard and it startled her.

She turned around quickly and saw the hottie standing in front of her with a smile plastered on his face.

“Uh, hi,” she stammered, trying not to act like a lunatic.

“Are you here with someone or are you just wedding crashing?” He asked with a quirk of his eyebrow.

At first she thought he was being serious, until she saw the small smirk at the corner of his mouth and the jovial look in his eyes.

“Uh, Harry. Harry’s my date,” she told him.

“Oh. Harry,” he said, looking over at the man in question.

“We’re just friends… Harry and I,” she added in, sounding like a complete idiot in the process.

“Oh. Okay,” he chuckled.

“We’re neighbors,” she continued, like she couldn’t stop herself.

“I see. I’m Jeremy. Best man, brother of the groom,” he said, holding out his hand to shake hers.

“Hailey. Harry’s date,” she said. _Good lord_ , she just needed to stop talking.

“You said that already,” Jeremy pointed out, smiling widely at her.

“Yeah. I did, didn’t I?” She chuckled nervously.

“It’s okay. You’re just being thorough. I did interrogate you a little bit when I first walked up,” he smirked, giving her an excuse for her awkwardness.

“Yeah. I suppose you did,” she said, smiling bashfully at him.

“Well, it was nice to meet you, Hailey,” he said finally.

“Likewise, Jeremy,” she told him.

“I’ll see you around,” he said, giving her a wink before he headed off.

 _Oh, Lord._ She hoped so.


	7. {Seven}

The wedding was exceptionally beautiful. Both the bride and groom cried as they said their vows, which was endearing. Of course Harry and his friends gave Matt shit for it afterward. Hailey never understood why men always felt the need to act so macho. It was annoying.

For the next hour or so after the wedding there was a portion of drinks and mingling amongst the guests and the wedding party, when they weren’t off getting their pictures taken.

When the wedding party finally came back in, Harry and Louis were inexplicably missing and Hailey wondered why only those two, but really didn’t give it any more thought when the blonde beauty Jeremy walked into the ballroom. Hailey felt a tingle throughout her entire body as she watched him and knew she needed to cool it. She _did_ have a date after all. She walked toward the bar to order a drink and was pleasantly surprised when Jeremy slid up next to her. The two of them talked for the next ten minutes, joking and laughing with one another. Jeremy told stories of the groom, who just so happened to be his little brother. And Hailey couldn’t help but find him funny and intriguing. But the best part was she felt at ease in his presence.

When Jeremy got pulled away by the groom himself, Hailey went to find the table she was assigned to and she couldn’t get that smile off her face even if she tried.

“You, uh… you were talking to Jeremy, huh?” Harry asked as he walked up to her.

“Oh. Uh… yeah. He’s nice,” Hailey said, getting startled by him as he was suddenly standing behind her. She felt like she was in a daze after talking to the fair-haired beautiful man.

“Mm-hmm,” Harry hummed, looking passed her. Hailey turned to see Jeremy and Matt were in his line of vision.

“What?” Hailey asked, looking back over at Harry skeptically.

“Nothing,” Harry said, shrugging it off.

Hailey couldn’t help but sense something coming off of him, whether it be jealousy or something else. She didn’t know. She also didn’t like it. He didn’t have a right to be jealous. He made it perfectly clear where they stood with each other when he said nothing would happen between them – unless he was _drunk_ , that is. He apparently only felt the need to fuck her when he was drunk.

“Can I get you a drink?” Harry asked her, changing the subject quickly.

“Sure. Uh, vodka tonic,” she told him.

“Coming right up,” he said as he maneuvered passed her, squeezing her arm affectionately as he did.

Hailey watched as he sauntered toward the bar and ordered their drinks. She could already feel that she was buzzed. It probably wasn’t a good idea to continue drinking at the rapid pace she was, but she didn’t want to stop. Not really. She didn’t know anybody at the wedding, so she wanted to have a good time and loosen up. _So far, so good_.

Harry walked back over to her with a smile on his face, handing her the drink she requested.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling sweetly at him.

“No problem, love,” he told her with a smile all for her.

“Will there be dancing tonight?” Hailey asked him, looking around at all the people mingling.

“After dinner, probably. Matt would never pass up something like that at his wedding,” Harry chuckled.

“Good. I like dancing,” Hailey said, smiling to herself as she took a sip of the drink.

“Save at least one for me,” he said, smiling at her.

“Well, you are my date. I expect more than _one_ ,” she said, bumping her shoulder into his.

“Touché,” he retorted, smirking back at her.

Hailey was left irrefutably solo throughout the dinner because Harry was sitting at the dinner table filled with the wedding party. She sat at a table full of elderly people who continued to ask her why such a ‘beautiful young girl’ wasn’t there with a date, to which she continued to point in Harry’s direction and explain she indeed had a date, he was just in the wedding party and couldn’t sit with her.

When dinner was over, the tables were moved to the side and the room was transformed into a dancefloor. After all the traditional dances, like the bride and groom’s first dance and the father/daughter dance, Harry disappeared again. Hailey didn’t catch sight of him for what was probably upwards of a half an hour. She sat in the corner near the bar drinking herself stupid. It was almost ridiculous.

“Why is a pretty lady like you not out on the dance floor?” She heard.

“Oh, my date is…” She started to say and realized it was Jeremy standing in front of her.

“Your date is what?” He asked, smirking at her.

“Missing in action,” she said, smiling back at him.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to keep you company until he comes back,” Jeremy told her.

“I suppose so,” she said, smiling bashfully, feeling a small blush working up her face.

“Care to join me for a dance?” He asked, holding out his hand.

“I’d love to,” she told him, setting her empty drink down on the table.

Jeremy guided Hailey out on the dance floor. She felt almost ecstatic to have something to do other than sitting in the corner drinking by herself. Jeremy’s arm swiftly wrapped around her waist as he took her free hand in his other. He was a good dancer. He knew how to lead. And when a fast song came on next, he knew how to dance to that too. He was the perfect balance of suave and playful, which Hailey enjoyed very much. She danced with Jeremy for three songs and she fully enjoyed herself through each of them. By the third, he pulled her close to his body and swayed with her to the love ballad that played through the ballroom.

“I’m here to steal my date back,” Hailey heard Harry as she felt Jeremy retracting from their embrace.

“I was just keeping her company,” Jeremy said, smirking at Harry.

“Uh-huh,” Harry said, eyeing him. And Hailey could tell there was some sort of tension between the two of them and she wasn’t sure why.

“Thank you for the dances, Jeremy,” Hailey told him as he stepped back for Harry to cut in.

“Anytime, beautiful,” he said, winking at her before he headed off the dance floor.

Harry scoffed as he wrapped his arm around Hailey’s waist. She furrowed her brow, giving him an odd look as she wrapped her arm around him and placed her other hand in his.

“What?” She asked as they swayed to the remainder of the song.

“Nothing,” Harry said, letting his unpleasant attitude drop altogether.

“Where have you been?” She asked, really truly wondering.

“With the lads,” he told her vaguely.

“Well, I’ve been drinking alone in the corner. I almost went up to the room, but realized you have the only key,” she told him.

“Sorry. We took Matty to the resort’s bar and did a bunch of shots to commemorate the night,” Harry explained.

He looked genuinely sorry for leaving her hanging, so she left it at that and enjoyed the fact that he was spinning her around the dance floor. Harry was his own balance of suave and playful, and Hailey was truly enjoying her time with him.

The two of them danced well into the night. Harry didn’t leave her side again until they were leaving and he was saying goodnight to his friends.

“Hey…” Hailey heard and turned to see Jeremy smiling at her.

“Hey,” she said, smiling back.

“I just wanted to give you this in hopes you’ll use it,” he said, slipping her a piece of paper. She quickly opened it and saw his phone number scrawled across it.

“Alright. I think I will,” she said, smiling up at him.

“Yeah?” He asked, smirking at her.

“Yeah,” she confirmed with a nodded.

“I look forward to it,” he said, winking at her before he walked off.

Harry was back by her side just moments after Hailey shoved the slip of paper into her clutch purse.

“Ready?” He asked, smiling at her.

“Ready,” she said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

The two of them slipped into the elevator together with another couple and rode it up to their floor. Only then did Hailey realize how drunk she really was. The jostling of the elevator made her head feel like it was spinning. She stumbled out of the elevator after Harry, leaving the other couple in their wake.

“I am drunk,” Hailey giggled as the pattern on the carpet almost looked like it was moving as she walked.

“ _You’re_ drunk? Do you even know how many shots we did at the bar?” Harry scoffed playfully.

“Do you even know how many drinks I drank waiting for you to get back from the bar?” She countered, letting out another giggle.

“Hailey…” Harry said, stopping in his tracks, causing her to bump right into his hard body.

“ _Jesus Christ_ ,” Hailey grumbled as she peeled herself away from him. Harry let out a boisterous laugh, turning to look back at her.

“I just smacked my cheek on your shoulder,” Hailey whimpered, holding her hand against her face.

“Oh, no,” Harry cooed, gently gripping onto the sides of her face, which startled Hailey. She dropped her hand away from her face as Harry leaned in leaving a kiss on her… cheek.

Hailey let out the breath of anticipation she was holding in as she stared at him and he pulled back.

“I’m sorry,” he told her.

“It’s… it’s okay…” She said, looking at him in complete awe.

“I stopped cause, uh… I don’t remember our room number,” Harry said, turning his head to look idly down the hallway.

“What?” Hailey asked, feeling a bit flustered.

Harry pulled the card key out of the inside pocket of his jacket and studied it for a moment before showing it to her.

“No room number,” Harry told her, slipping it back into his jacket pocket.

“You really can’t remember?” Hailey asked, looking at him, her mouth hung open in complete dismay.

She didn’t bother to even look at what their room number was when they arrived at the hotel. And she didn’t see what it was when they went down for the wedding. Harry was the one who rented the room and the one who checked them in. He also was the only one with a key to the room, which was rather inconvenient for her.

“I really can’t remember,” Harry told her.

“Oh my god. Why don’t you remember, Harry? You’re supposed to remember,” Hailey giggled, shoving him into the wall.

She didn’t mean to shove him so hard. Maybe the alcohol gave her super strength? Maybe the alcohol took all his strength? Maybe it was a combination of both?

“ _Jesus Christ_ , lady!” Harry laughed, peeling himself away from the wall, which made her giggle uncontrollably.

“Hulk!” He laughed.

“Oh my god. I’m sorry,” she giggled.

“Did my body leave a dent in the wall?” He chuckled, looking back at the spot as they continued to walk.

“Not even,” she laughed, shoving him lighter this time.

“Don’t. You might break my bones,” he joked.

“I can’t help that you’re a weakling!” She protested.

“A weakling, huh?” He asked, swiftly grabbing her body and pinning her to the wall.

“Harry!” She yelped, trying to squirm away from him. But he grabbed her wrists and pinned them up above her.

“Who’s weak now?” He asked, smirking wildly at her.

“Harry,” Hailey warned, eyeing him as her giggles died out.

The way he had her pinned and the weight of his body pressed against hers was doing things to her that she could not control. Their eyes stared straight in to each other’s and neither of them were moving. When Hailey saw a flicker in his eyes, a challenge, she knew what was about to happen was inevitable.

Harry’s lips crashed into hers with enough force to make her whimper. She didn’t even care that pain was now throbbing through them, all that mattered was Harry’s lips on hers. His mouth moved fast and fluidly over hers and she did her best to keep in time with him. Her heart was beating so fast, she thought it might break free from her chest.

_Oh, god. Please let it happen again. She just need it to happen again._

Harry’s fingers squeezed tighter and tighter around Hailey’s wrists before he let go completely. Her fingers immediately tangled into his hair as she pulled him in closer. She could taste the alcohol on his tongue, a taste she didn’t mind, since more than likely it was what he was tasting on hers too. They were both drunk, but in all honesty, Hailey knew they would both remember this. It was her deepest desire. And well, Harry was letting it happen again, so couldn’t it very well be his too?

When Harry broke the kiss, he didn’t look away embarrassed about what he just let happen. No. He stared straight into her eyes.

“Let’s find our room,” he suggested, sending her a seductive smirk. It was a hint of things to come, she was sure of it.

“Yeah,” she said, nodding as he grabbed onto her hand and pulled her away from the wall.

Harry led the way down the hallway and stopped in front of a door.

“2494. That’s it, right?” He asked, eyeing her.

“What? I have no idea,” she scoffed at him.

“I think it might be our room,” he said, quirking an eyebrow.

“Try the key,” she told him.

“Oh, yeah. Duh,” he said, pulling it out of his pocket again. He quickly shoved it in the key slot, but it gave a red light instead of a green one.

“Try it again,” Hailey offered. And he did, but it still went red.

“Maybe it isn’t the room,” she said, biting her bottom lip.

“No. It is,” he told her confidently.

“How do you know all of a sudden?” She asked with a smirk.

“Louis’ birth date. My birth year,” he told her.

“What?” She asked confused.

“Louis was born December 24th. And I was born in 1994. _2494_. This is our room,” Harry explained.

“Try it again,” Hailey offered one more time. This time when Harry pushed the key in, it turned green.

“ _V_ _oilà_ _!”_ He said, sending her a smirk.

“Thank god!” Hailey giggled.

“Come on,” he said, pulling her in by her hand.

Once the door closed Harry stopped in the entryway, turning toward her, which caused her body to hit his again – chest-to-chest this time.

“Hey,” he said sounding seductive and sexy, placing his hands on the sides of her face.

“Hey,” she said quietly, looking up into his green eyes.

He smiled as he moved in, capturing her lips with his again. Hailey’s heart did somersaults in her chest, feeling all sorts of excitement. Could it be the start of something between them? Everything he did seemed so sincere, so perfect. Could she be getting everything she’s wanted for so long?

“You look amazing tonight, Hailey. I had the best looking date out there,” Harry told her, his eyes hooded and his smile wide.

“Shut up,” she said bashfully, lightly batting at his chest.

“I’m serious,” he said, leaving another kiss on her lips.

“You’re just saying that so I’ll screw you,” she countered, smirking playfully at him.

“Not true. We can go to sleep right now if you don’t believe me,” he said, taking a few steps back.

“Not a chance,” she said, quickly pulling him back to her by his jacket lapels.

“Mmm,” he hummed, smiling as their lips crashed together.

And it was Hailey pushing him back toward the bed. One thing was true, alcohol definitely made her daring. A moment later, Harry’s fingers pushed down the straps of her dress, their mouths never leaving one another’s. Hailey’s fingers quickly worked to push his jacket over his shoulders before swiftly moving to unbutton the long row of buttons on his shirt.

Harry chuckled against her lips as he fought to free himself from his jacket that she abandoned halfway down his arms on her quest to getting him naked. But once his arms were free, he started undoing his tie as Hailey continued downward, popping out button after button. Harry quickly pulled the tie over his head and then focused himself on her. His hands grabbed at the top of her dress, pushing it down her body, not stopping until the thin black material was in a heap at her feet. He smirked at her as she stood before him in the sexiest black lingerie she had ever worn in her life. She may have had some hopes and aspirations for the trip that led her to a lingerie store the night before they left for the wedding. And she was sure she’d be paying it off on her credit card for a while, but the unadulterated look of lust in his eyes made it all worth it in the end. Black lace was the perfect choice.

“ _My god_ , Hailey,” he breathed as his hands came up to rub over the tops of her breasts.

Hailey pushed herself forward, grabbing onto his belt buckle, determined to continue undressing him. Her fingers moved fast, undoing his belt and slacks. She could feel his eyes watching her and she did her best to not let it rake at her insecurities. If she just kept her focus on the goal at hand, she wouldn’t have to worry about what he was thinking.

Hailey’s hands pushed his black slacks down to the floor. And when she came back up, she noticed he was still wearing his shirt, so she promptly rid him of that. All the while, he stood there with his attention solely on her. When she was nearly finished ridding him of his clothing, she looked into his eyes and bit at her lip. He smirked at her and cocked that sexy little eyebrow at her. _Oh,_ _good lord._

Hailey’s arms wrapped around his neck as her lips crashed into his, letting the alcohol guide her. His arms wrap tightly around her waist as he kissed her back with just as much intensity. She could feel his hands move down over her bottom and she let him lift her up against him, quickly wrapping her legs around his waist.

She never thought it would happen in real life – not again. But it was. And she was fully on board.

Within moments, Harry laid her down on the bed, pushing himself down on top of her, their mouths frantically tasting one another before Harry pulled up slowly, looking down at her. His hands trailed lightly over her exposed skin and a smirk formed on his face as he lightly snapped the strap of her bra against her skin.

“Did you wear this for me?” He asked, smiling playfully at her.

She could see the haze in his eyes that was caused by too much alcohol. She might have been sure he would remember the night, but figured he might not remember _everything_ , so she gave him honesty.

“For only you,” she breathed, smiling back at him.

“ _Mmm_ ,” he moaned pleasingly as his fingers trailed over the material.

Something inside of Hailey was hell-bent on keeping her insecurities from hindering the night, because instead of feeling uncomfortable over the way he was staring at her and touching her, she relished in it. She wanted him to touch her more and more. She never wanted him to stop touching her.

Quickly, she leaned up and undid her bra, letting it fall forward off her arms.

“You’re so beautiful,” he cooed as his hands grasped willingly at her newly exposed flesh. Hailey smiled at his words and enjoyed the fact that he was saying them and sincerely meaning them.

His mouth came down, taking a nipple in-between his lips, causing pleasure to skate through her. Hailey groaned loudly as her fingers wrapped in his hair, his mouth and tongue dancing around the sensitive bud, arousing her more than she ever thought possible. He swiftly moved to the next, making sure not to play favorites and Hailey couldn’t help the moan that escaped her lips. _Oh, god_. His mouth was magic as it kissed up her chest and neck, not stopping until his lips were on hers once again.

“Do you want this, Hailey?” He breathed in her ear, simultaneously sending a shiver throughout her body.

“ _Mmm_ ,” she moaned as she nodded her head.

“I want to hear you say it,” he told her.

“Yes, Harry. I want it. I want you,” she cooed, leaning up to kiss his lips.

A moment later, Harry pulled his body up, letting his hands trail down her entire upper body, grasping onto the sides of her panties to pull them off of her. She lay before him naked, paralyzed with anticipation as he pulled down his own underwear. And there she was, _really_ seeing him for the first time. When they did this before, it was dark and they were already in bed. This time they got to play and truly appreciate one another.

“Are you ready?” Harry asked, smiling down at her, swiping his finger down her cleft.

“Well, clearly you are,” he said with a satisfied smirk. She _was_. She had never been as turned on by a man as she was with Harry.

“ _Please_ ,” she begged. He chuckled as he lowered himself down on her.

“Hailey…” He breathed, hovering his lips over hers. She let out an almost silent whimper, mentally pleading with him to just let it happen already.

And when he pushed himself inside, it was a triumphant feeling. She let a sigh escape her lips, to which Harry chuckled before pressing his lips to hers.

Right off the bat, Hailey was certain she was going to come early. She was so enthralled in him already, her body so entirely in-tuned to him that there was no holding herself back. Every movement he made inside of her sent pleasure rocketing through her. She was lucky she lasted as long as she did, honestly. When she felt the pleasurable contractions of orgasm rippling through her, she groaned loudly, unable to hold it back.

With Harry’s fast paced rhythms, he was sending her body into a complete sexual frenzy. She couldn’t help the number of times she screamed because of him. He seemed to enjoy torturing her the way he was because he did his best to keep a smile on his face. And when his face contorted from his own orgasm, it was Hailey’s turn to smile.

“ _Fuck me_ ,” Harry groaned, collapsing down next to her on the bed.

“Mmm, it was my pleasure,” she hummed, curling up against his body.

“The pleasure was entirely mine,” he retorted before kissing her on the top of her head.

The two of them lay in each other’s arms, letting the adrenaline seep from their bodies and their breathing to go back to normal. Harry just made up for every second he left her alone during the wedding. Because this was what she came for – _him_.

After Harry shut off the lights, he wrapped her back up in his arms, pulling her close to him.

“Harry…” Hailey breath.

“Hmm,” he answered.

“Don’t pretend like this didn’t happen. Not again, okay?” She asked him.

“I won’t,” he said and leaned down to kiss her lips.

Hailey fell asleep with a smile on her face, exactly where she wanted to be.


	8. {Eight}

The moment the morning seeped into her eyes, Hailey’s brain spiraled back into consciousness. She could feel every ache in her muscles and wondered what the hell happened to her the previous night. She groaned as she pressed the heels of her hands into her eyes. A moment later, she felt an arm drape around her waist. Her entire body froze as she slowly looked down at the arm around her. And a second later, she felt a gentle kiss between her shoulder blades. She quietly bit her lip and hoped it was Harry in bed with her and not the random guy she flirted with at the wedding. Of course, sleeping with Jeremy wouldn’t be a bad thing, but she kind of hoped they might get to know each other a bit first.

“Good morning,” she heard a gruff voice before his head popped up over her arm.

_Harry._ It was Harry and she felt relief.

Her wildly beating heart slowed and then suddenly started beating faster again for a very different reason.

_It was Harry_. She slept with Harry again. Her stomach turned with excitement.

“Morning,” she squeaked out.

As Hailey turned onto her back to look over at Harry, she pulled the sheet up, covering her naked body. Harry smiled over at her as he propped up on his elbow, watching her.

“What was that for? Afraid I might see you naked?” He asked as he sent her an odd look and tugged at the sheet.

“N-no…” Hailey said, her voice quivering more than she would have hoped for.

She let her arms go lax to show him she wasn’t hiding from him, even though she felt a bit awkward and she could tell he noticed. Harry let out a small chuckle, smiling over at her. Seriously, what in the hell was going on?

“You’re acting like you don’t remember last night,” Harry stated, quirking his eyebrow at her.

“Uh…” Hailey stammered, trying to rack her brain for a memory, for anything.

She remembered dancing with Harry at the wedding and drinking and Jeremy and drinking more and the walk to the hotel with Harry – how they couldn’t find the hotel door, not right away anyway. Then she remembered Harry pushing her up against the wall, putting all his weight against her body in the sexiest way possible – just thinking about it again made her hormones fluctuate. And she remembered him kissing her. And then there was the bed and then… _yes_. She remembered.

“Did you just have a _Eureka_ moment?” He asked, smirking widely at her.

“Uh, I guess so,” she said with a small smile as she ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

“You guess so?” Harry asked, continuing to smirk at her.

“I remember,” she said, unable to hold back a massive smile, because _god_ , it was good. Just, really _good_ sex.

“Mmm. Good,” he hummed, leaning in to kiss her neck. Yes, _good_.

Hailey’s entire body tingled with his lips on her and she wondered what the hell kind of _Eureka_ moment he had last night to be nuzzling her like that. She loved it, but _damn_ , it was so out of character. Like, was she still sleeping? Was she going to wake up and be incredibly disappointed with reality?

When Harry’s hand came up to pull the sheet away from her upper body, Hailey let out a breathless _“oh”_ , causing Harry to snicker against her skin.

“Harry…” Hailey breathed, but he continued kissing up her neck as his palm grazed across her chest.

“ _Harry_ ,” Hailey said again, more directly this time.

“ _Shh_ ,” he hushed her as he leaned up, kissing her lips. Seriously, though. Was she dreaming?

Harry worked his body between her legs as Hailey opened her mouth to his and his tongue licked into hers, exploring the slope of her tongue.

“ _Mm_ ,” Hailey moaned into his mouth as her fingers tangled into the back of his hair. If it was a dream, she was going with it. At least she’d have something to look back on when she woke up alone.

Harry pulled back a moment later and Hailey’s stomach dropped, thinking he wouldn’t go any further.

“Is this too much this early in the morning?” He breathed against her lips.

“N-no,” she stammered, her voice noticeably shaking. _No. God. Please don’t stop._

“Good,” he said, smiling against her lips before he was back at it.

_Oh, god. He is perfect. Why is he so perfect?_ Hailey’s mind couldn’t wrap around it. What changed for him? What did she do to change the way he thought about her? He had no idea what this was doing to her. He had no idea what it meant to her. They were of sound mind. They weren’t hiding behind alcohol this time. They were both thinking clearly. And it had to mean something. It just had to.

Harry’s hand slipped down, pulling her leg up against his hip, giving him better access to her body. When his fingers slipped down her cleft, she let out a low moan against his mouth. Harry bit her lip before pulling back. She watched the way his attention moved down between them to his fingers on her and she reveled in it. She loved being able to get a good look at him without feeling incredibly awkward to be staring at him. He was so beautiful it hurt.

When Hailey felt his hardness slip against her, it sent pleasure skating through her, her mind completely losing all train of thought.

“Is this okay?” Harry breathed.

“Mm, yes… yes,” she mumbled, looking up at him again and he sent her a pleased smile seconds before she felt him slip inside of her.

“ _Oh_ ,” she breathed lowly as he sank into her.

As Harry built up a slow rhythm, Hailey leaned up to kiss him quickly. She was going to get it in while she still could because no doubt afterward, they would go back to just being friends. It was inevitable. She would relish in his touch, his kiss, his everything while she had him.

Every thrust into her was like a nail in her coffin. She was completely powerless to him. He held all the cards and she knew it. She was completely hooked on him and knew she would be for the rest of her life. Especially after moments like this.

The sound of his ragged breathing above her was like music to her ears and when he let out a moan here or there, she swore she was hearing angels sing. Both other times she slept with Harry he was completely drunk, but this was so much different. This was tender attentive love-making and it almost broke Hailey’s heart to know it wouldn’t last. Her fantasy of the two of them would not last.

And it was ever-so clear as her body contracted and the pleasure shuddered through her like a ghost being exercised from her body. As Harry continued, Hailey’s body sang for him. It was like she was on a new plane of existence and the pleasure never stopped.

When Harry’s body stiffened above her and he let out a choked moan, she knew he had finished. She held him against her body as his weight settled on top of her. She felt so comforted by him, so peaceful, like he was her very own weighted blanket. She never wanted him to leave her arms and when he rolled off her body, she felt cold and empty.

“ _Oh,_ _god_. You’re the best, Hailey,” Harry said breathlessly as he washed his hands down his face.

“ _Mm_ ,” Hailey hummed, her heartbeat bumping rapidly in her chest.

“ _Mm-hmm_ ,” he hummed lightly, running his fingers through his hair.

She didn’t say anything. She just lay there trying to collect her thoughts after another phenomenal go-around with Harry.

“I’m not sure when the lads want to leave today,” Harry said, looking over at her. And just like that, their little love-bubble was popped. _Poof_.

“ _Mm_ ,” she hummed, nodding her head.

“You okay?” Harry asked, sending her an odd look.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she said, looking over at him with a small smile on her lips.

“You’re acting a bit strange,” he pointed out.

“I’m just tired. I mean, you know… after _that_ and all,” Hailey said, trying not to make everything awkward between them.

“ _Mmm_. I completely understand,” he said, smiling suggestively as he leaned over and wrapped his arms around her again, cuddling up to her body.

She was literally freaking out internally with the way Harry was acting. But she was definitely enjoying it. No doubt about it. If he was going to pretend they were more than they really were to one another, then so was she. She leaned into it, wrapping her arms around his body and held him in her arms. It was like her own kind of Heaven.

“We should get ready though,” Harry breathed against her collarbone and suddenly she was falling out of the clouds.

“Yeah, uh. We probably should,” she agreed.

When he pulled out of her arms, she had no choice but to let him go. It felt like a piece of her soul was dying as she watched him get out of the bed. But the view she had – _oh_ , the view was that of legend. Harry strut to the bathroom as naked as the day he was born and it was like baby angels were singing in her head. He didn’t even bother to shut the bathroom door as he started the shower start up. She couldn’t wrap her head around the way he was acting. He was acting as if they were dating and she couldn’t help but want to live with him in the fantasy he was creating.

Hailey smiled to herself as she got out of bed, tip-toeing toward the bathroom door.

“Are you going to be long in there?” She called out to him.

“No. I don’t think so,” he told her.

“Okay,” she said, biting her lip, imaging what he looked like in the shower.

“We could conserve time and water by showering together, you know,” he offered, poking his head out of the shower with a devilish smirk on his face.

“Oh, yeah?” Hailey answered, smirking back at him.

“Get in here,” he said, latching onto her arm as he pulled her toward the shower.

“Harry!” Hailey yelped loudly.

“C’mon,” he laughed as he pulled her inside.

Hailey slipped slightly while getting in, but Harry caught her, their naked body’s sloshing together under the warm spray of the water.

“You okay?” He asked, smirking down at her as his grip on her loosened only slightly.

“I’m… I’m good,” she told him, looking up into his eyes like he was the second coming of Christ or something.

“C’mon. We don’t have a lot of time. It’s already almost noon. I’m surprised Niall isn’t blowing up my phone already,” Harry said, turning Hailey toward the shower spray.

“Alright,” she grumbled as she let the shower stream cascade down her body.

It was warm and inviting and she enjoyed the calm that spread through her as she closed her eyes under the spray. When she opened them again, she caught Harry staring at her with a smug little smile on his face.

“What?” She asked with a curious smirk.

“Nothing,” he said, smirking back. Hailey eyed him, wondering what he was thinking.

“ _What?”_ She asked again, more demanding.

“I just… I feel like my eyes have been opened for the first time,” he said, smiling down at her.

_What?_ Hailey’s brows furrowed in confusion.

“What does that mean?” She asked, feeling her heart constrict in her chest. Anxiety swelled within her. _Did he just…? What did he mean?_

“I don’t know. I just… never mind,” he said, looking bashful as he waved it off.

“No. _Harry_ …” Hailey squeaked out. She needed to know what he meant.

“It’s nothing. Just get showered. We should get going,” he told her, completely blowing it off.

“But…” Hailey stammered, staring at him dumbfounded.

“I’m gonna get out and get dressed,” he told her.

He didn’t even get his hair wet. He literally wasn’t finished showering, but he couldn’t get away from her fast enough it seemed. And that feeling of rejection was almost crippling.

“Uh, okay,” Hailey said quietly, watching as he stepped out of the shower.

Hailey’s eyes pooled with tears, but she quickly cleared her throat and continued showering, realizing the whole morning was a fluke. It seemed to be back to normal between them – _just friends_.

When Hailey got out of the shower, Harry was already dressed, talking to someone on his phone. She dressed quickly and did what she needed to do to get ready for their eight hour drive back to Los Angeles.

“You ready? They lads are going to meet us in the lobby,” Harry told her as she pulled her suitcase off the bed onto the floor.

“Ready,” she said with a nod, pulling the suitcase behind her.

Hailey and Harry didn’t speak as they left the hotel room or in the elevator on their way down. When the elevator doors opened, they were met with an almost overly crowded lobby. And even so, none of the people seemed to be any of Harry’s friends. Why was he in such a rush if they weren’t even ready to go?

“Where are they?” Hailey asked him curiously.

“I don’t know,” Harry said, checking his phone.

“Hmm,” she hummed skeptically, standing awkwardly next Harry.

After a few minutes of waiting, Harry opted to go up to the guys’ rooms to push them along. Therefore, Hailey was left standing in the lobby with both of their bags. She felt a bit awkward and cursed Harry under her breath for leaving her all alone.

“Hey there, beautiful lady,” she heard and her head snapped in the direction of the voice.

_Jeremy._

“Left all alone?” He asked with a wide smile.

“Hi,” Hailey said, beaming a smile at him. She forgot how incredibly handsome he was and it was almost enough to take her breath away.

“Are you checking out?” He asked curiously.

“Yeah. Uh, we’ve got a long drive ahead of us,” she told him.

“Oh. You drove?” He asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Yeah. I came up with Harry and the rest of the groomsmen,” she told him.

“I’d have thought you all flew like the rest of us,” he said, smirking at her.

“Nah. We’re not that classy, apparently,” she laughed, her cheeks heating up significantly. She felt like a bumbling idiot in his presence.

“Hmm. Sounds like fun,” he chuckled.

“Not really,” she giggled, shaking her head.

“Well, maybe during the drive you can text me to keep yourself from getting too bored. You do still have my number, right?” He asked, quirking his eyebrow as he sent her a suggestive look.

“I do,” she said, smiling back at him bashfully, remembering the slip of paper with his number on it was in the clutch she used the previous night.

“Don’t be afraid to use it,” he said, bouncing his eyebrows at her.

“Oh. Uh, okay,” she giggled awkwardly.

A split second later, Jeremy’s eyes looked past her and his smile faded straight off his face.

“I’ll see you again, I hope,” he said, leaning in to give her a quick hug.

“Yeah. That would be nice,” she told him honestly. She definitely would love to see him again.

“Bye, Hailey,” he said, sending her one last smile and a gentle squeeze of her arm.

“Bye, Jeremy,” she said, giving him a wave as he walked off.

“What did he want?” She heard moments later as Harry walked up with a scowl on his face.

“Oh! Uh, he was… he was just saying goodbye,” Hailey stammered, feeling as if she was flirting with another dude behind her boyfriend’s back or something. Which, Harry wasn’t her boyfriend, so the feeling was ridiculous.

“ _Mm-hmm_ ,” Harry hummed ominously as he stared off in the direction Jeremy went.

“Did you… did you find the guys?” Hailey asked, quickly changing the subject.

“Yeah. They’re waiting for us by the car,” Harry told her.

“Oh. Okay,” she said, grabbing onto her luggage handle.

“C’mon,” Harry said, throwing his arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the resort together.

It felt weird to her, like Harry was staking claim on her – which he had no right to do if he wasn’t _actually_ staking claim on her. But she liked the feel of his arm around her, so she went with it.

Just before Hailey shoved her luggage in the back of Niall’s SUV, she quickly dug inside for her clutch purse from the night before. It wasn’t the clutch she wanted it. It was what was inside – the slip of paper with Jeremy’s phone number on it. And as Harry and Niall were fussing over how to fit all the bags in the same way they fit the first time, Hailey entered Jeremy’s number into her phone.

Just as she finished, Harry was coaxing her into the back of the vehicle with him. She almost felt bad that she was putting another man’s phone number in her contacts, but it was a foolish feeling and she had every right to be talking to whomever she wanted. She had no clue what in the hell Harry was looking for or what he wanted from her. And she wasn’t going to put her life on hold while he figured it out.

Once they were on the road Hailey opened up a new text message to Jeremy.

**_Hailey:_ ** _We’ve just started our journey. Wish me luck. – Hailey_

She made sure to put her name at the end of the text so he would know who it was. And when her phone vibrated in her hand with his reply, she couldn’t help but smile to herself.

**_Jeremy:_ ** _Good luck, pretty lady._

Hailey bit at her lip as she re-read his message over and over. _Pretty lady._ And when another text from him came in, her heart nearly skipped a beat.

**_Jeremy:_ ** _In all honesty, I didn’t think you’d actually text me._

**_Hailey:_ ** _Why wouldn’t I?_

**_Jeremy:_ ** _Well, you’re just so beautiful. You must have guys knocking down your door to spend time with you._

Hailey couldn’t help but blush from his charm. His flirting was certainly doing a number on her.

**_Hailey:_ ** _Not as many as you’d think._

**_Jeremy:_ ** _I don’t believe it. But either way, less that I’ll have to fight off, I guess._

**_Hailey:_ ** _Oh yeah?_

**_Jeremy:_ ** _That’s right, pretty lady._

She honestly couldn’t believe such a beautiful man was interested in a girl like her. She couldn’t help but think that he was way out of her league. But he was making it pretty clear how he felt about her. And she was completely blushing as she re-read his words. She didn’t know how to respond, so she just sat there, staring at her phone. Lucky for her, the phone buzzed in her hand with another text. But it wasn’t from Jeremy.

**_Harry:_ ** _Hey._

Hailey looked up to see Harry smiling over at her. She couldn’t help but smile back.

“Dork,” she giggled.

“What?” He snickered.

“I’m right next to you,” she laughed.

“You’re texting like mad. I wanted to be included,” he told her, looking a little vulnerable. She loved seeing that side of him.

“Oh. Well, I can put my phone away,” she said, dropping it into the cup holder next to her. He sent her a cheesy smile and she couldn’t help but laugh.

“But you have to put yours away too,” she told him.

“Deal,” he agreed, placing his in the cup holder on his side of the vehicle.

The first three hours of the trip were spent talking and goofing off with Harry in the back seat. Hailey enjoyed the playful side of him completely. He was a fun guy, always trying to make her laugh and she loved that about him. After a quick bathroom/food/gas break, they were back on the road. And after a long, eventful night, Hailey was quite tired. So, she and Harry both hunkered down in the back seat and took a nap. He held her against his chest and Hailey felt so special to be near him. And if felt like there was so much more going on between them than there actually was. The intimacy level just felt higher than ever.

Hailey woke up as the sun was setting. Harry was already awake, looking out the window over the mountains.

“It’s beautiful,” Hailey breathed softly.

“It really is,” he said, smiling down at her as he tightened his grip around her shoulder.

She truly enjoyed being in his arms. It was everything she’d ever hoped for since the day she met him and she just hoped and prayed that things were finally going to work out between them.

After the sun set, they stopped again for another bathroom break. They only had two hours left of their journey, but Hailey was more than ready to be home after six hours sitting in a car with a hangover.

“Come here,” Harry murmured, pulling Hailey against his body once they were settled back into their seats.

“Harry,” Hailey giggled lightly, pulling back a bit.

“What? Just come here,” he said, smirking at her as he playfully grabbed onto her shirt, tugging her toward him again.

“What are you doing?” She spoke in a hushed tone, looking in front of them to see if any of the guys were paying attention to the two of them in the back seat. Which they weren’t.

Louis and Niall were talking in the front seat. And both Liam and Josh were dead to the world with their headphones blaring in their ears.

“What are you afraid of? One of them seeing you touching me?” Harry snickered, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“No…” She said uneasily, looking down at him.

“Because let’s face it, Hailey. You’ve been touching me all day,” he said, smirking suggestive at her.

“Shut up,” she said, smiling bashfully as she swatted at his chest.

“Don’t hit. Be nice,” he scolded her as her pulled her closer.

“Harry…” She whined as she was nearly pulled down on top of him.

“Kiss me,” he breathed against her lips.

“What? No,” she said, trying to pull away from him. She felt so awkward being on top of him with the other guys in the car.

“Just shut it and kiss me,” he said in a hushed tone.

“ _Harry,”_ she protested again.

“Kiss me, Hailey,” he said more sternly.

With a deep breath, she threw caution to the wind and crashed her lips into his, satisfying both of them. Their tongues met almost instantly and Hailey almost couldn’t take it. _What was happening between them?_

“Harry,” Hailey breathed against his lips with an unavoidable smile.

“ _Shh-shh-shh_ ,” he hushed her, leaning up to kiss her again.

A moment later, he pushed himself up and spun her into the crevice between him and the seat. It definitely was a tight fit and their legs, especially Harry’s long ones, didn’t have much room in the cramped back seat, but they made it work.

“Lay down,” he breathed against her lips.

Hailey let out a scoff, because how was that physically possible? She literally couldn’t move an inch with the way Harry had her sandwiched against the seat.

“Here,” he said as he sat up a bit and gave her enough room to comfortably move.

She was a bit reluctant to actually lay down because she didn’t really know what Harry’s intentions were. She wasn’t about to fuck him in the backseat with four of his best friends there to witness it. _Hell no_.

“Harry…” Hailey said, hesitating once again.

“Will you just shut it and enjoy this?” He said, smirking widely at her.

“ _Ohmygod_ ,” she huffed, rolling her eyes as she laid down on her back in the seat.

Harry grabbed his big blanket and pulled it over himself as he came down on top of her, connecting their lips once again. Hailey honestly couldn’t believe they were making out with four other people in the vehicle with them. She felt like a teenager. But she honestly loved it. She loved every second.

After a while of being felt up in the back seat, Hailey was practically panting for him and she knew she needed to be the voice of reason. They had to stop because they couldn’t go any further. She _wouldn’t_. The two of them sat back up in the seat and Hailey did all she could do to regain her composure. Her hair was a mess and her hormones were out of control.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Harry whispered to her and she looked over to see his massive hard-on protruding through the fabric of his sweatpants.

Hailey let out a loud laugh before clamping her hand over her mouth. She noticed Liam look back at her and she mouthed _“sorry”_ to him, but couldn’t help but giggle more.

“Shut it. You’re terrible,” Harry laughed, shoving her shoulder as he covered himself with the blanket.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” Hailey laughed, trying to really rein herself in.

“You did this, you know,” he grumbled playfully.

“It was all you, buddy,” she laughed.

“Maybe you shouldn’t pressure me into snogging in the backseat,” Harry joked, quirking his eyebrow at her.

“Oh, _shut up_ ,” she said, shoving at him and he let out a laugh.

“What are ya laughing about back there?” Niall asked as he looked at them through the rear view mirror.

“ _Flirtin’_ ,” Louis said just loud enough for them to hear.

“Harry’s having _issues_ ,” Hailey told them with a laugh.

“Ha-ha,” Harry said evenly, leaning over to poke Hailey in the side. She let out a yelp and covered her mouth quickly because she knew Liam and Josh were trying to sleep.

“Stop it,” Hailey said, swatting his hand away when he tried to do it again.

“It’s just so easy,” Harry said, gripping onto her knee, causing her to jump again.

“Stop it, _Harry_ ,” Hailey warned him in a hushed voice.

“I don’t wanna,” he told her as he tried again. She blocked his hand quickly and laughed at him.

“Who keeps touching who now?” She scoffed at him.

“Ha,” Harry laughed as he finally retreated to his side of the car.

“That’s what I thought,” Hailey grumbled under her breath.

“Just wait,” Harry said prophetically.

“What?” She asked, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“Just wait,” he said again, looking out the window instead of at her.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” She asked with a wide smile.

“Mm, nothing,” he said, still not looking at her.

“ _Mm-hmm_ ,” Hailey hummed, feeling the anticipation of whatever Harry was planning to do to her. She bit her lip and squeezed her thighs together to try to stifle the pleasurable feelings that were skating through her.

When Harry eyed her momentarily, Hailey let out another laugh.

“ _What?”_ She pressed.

“Nothing,” he said again and she knew he was just toying with her.

“Whatever, _mate_ ,” Hailey scoffed, mimicking him on purpose.

Harry sent her another look and she noticed his lips were turned up into a mischievous smirk.

“Stop it,” she scolded him, but couldn’t help but smile.

“You stop it,” he countered playfully.

They didn’t touch each other again for the last twenty minutes of the ride to their apartment complex. When they finally arrived, Hailey felt nothing but relief. She was so happy to be getting out of that cramped vehicle. She couldn’t wait to sleep in her own bed.

“See you lads later,” Harry said as he stood next to the passenger window talking to the guys.

“Thanks, guys!” Hailey called to them and she heard what she could only believe was some sort of goodbye, but it just sounded like one collective grunt.

Hailey headed to the door before Harry, who was still talking with the guys. She was completely beat and she just wanted to go to bed.

“Hey, wait for me,” she heard Harry call out to her. She turned to see him jogging toward her with his bag in one hand and his pillow and blanket under his other arm.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she chuckled as she propped the door open with her foot.

“Hey, I was thinking. Maybe… uh, do you want to hang out?” He asked, looking at her hopefully.

“Um. Uh, sure,” she said, smiling bashfully at him. She was exhausted, but could she really pass up a chance to bro-out with Harry? Yeah, no.

“I just… it might get a little lonely in our flats without each other tonight,” he said, smiling mischievously at her.

“ _Oh_ ,” she said, realizing what he was proposing. He wanted to sleepover or have her sleepover with him. This was new.

“Yeah, sure. I mean, yeah,” she stammered, feeling completely flustered.

“Brilliant,” he said, smiling as he walked toward the elevator.

“My place or yours?” He asked as they stepped inside the lift.

“Uh… I mean… Jagger and Bowie…” She stammered, thinking Harry needed to take care of his puppies.

“Oh, they’re still with my sister until tomorrow. Why don’t we just hang out at your house?” He offered.

“Sure,” she said, smiling at him.

The two of them walked to her door and she unlocked it, letting him inside.

“Welcome home,” Harry said as he flipped on the light.

“Yes. Welcome home,” she said, smiling at him.


	9. {Nine}

“Are you tired?” Hailey asked Harry as the two of them walked into her apartment after their long drive.

She couldn’t help the butterflies in her stomach at the thought of Harry sleeping over with her without a legit excuse. The first time he lost his keys, and the second and third time they were stuck in a single occupancy hotel room together. But now he was there on his own terms, because he wanted to be there. And that… that meant something. It had to.

“I’m exhausted,” he said, setting down his bag. Hailey nodded, watching as he moved closer and closer to where she was standing.

“But I’m not tired,” he told her, his face mere inches away from hers.

“Yeah. Yeah, me too,” she breathed against his lips. She had to swallow the lump in her throat in order to breathe. Harry was making her go crazy.

“Hailey…” He breathed, his lips grazing hers in the gentlest of ways.

“Hmm?” She hummed.

He didn’t finish his thought though. He just pressed his lips delicately to hers, causing the butterflies to run amok in her stomach. _Dear god, man_.

Harry’s lips moved perfectly against hers as she felt his hands tangle in the hair at the back of her head. Her hands gripped lightly onto his shirt, fisting the fabric in them. It didn’t take long before Harry was coaxing her mouth open with his tongue, speeding the kisses up quite a bit. And before she knew it or even realized, he was walking her to her bedroom, their mouths still fused together.

Hailey let out a little whimper as he laid her out on the bed. She wasn’t quite ready to break free of his hold. But the way he was staring down at her, the lust swirling in his eyes, she was certain her hold on him wasn’t broken entirely.

Harry’s body fit between her legs as he stood that the end of the bed. His hands moved up and down her thighs as he readied himself for what was about to happen. And _oh god_ , she was ready.

“Please…” She whispered, sitting up on her elbows.

His breathtaking green eyes looked down into hers, stripping her down to nothing with a look, leaving her bared to him. She was his. She was sure of it now. She was Harry’s and she never wanted to be anyone else’s.

Harry leaned in, grasping firmly to the back of her neck, pressing a hardened kiss against her lips. She couldn’t help but think of how perfectly it sealed everything for her. She was his, most definitely.

“Oh, god,” she groaned against his lips.

Hailey’s fingers grasped at the hem of his shirt, pushing it up frantically as her legs wrapped around him, pressing his body into hers. He groaned from the friction and she couldn’t help but smirk against his lips.

“Just… just let me get you naked,” Hailey giggled as he fought to keep kissing her.

Harry laughed, standing up once again as Hailey sat up, stripping him of his shirt. He helped throw it over his head and onto the floor as he smiled seductively at her. She chuckled as she slipped his sweatpants down over the swell of his ass, then came back up for his boxer briefs. She didn’t even get them down to his knees before she grasped a hold of his already hardened penis.

Harry let out a guttural moan as she began pumping it lightly in her hands. The sounds the emanated from his throat made her whole entire body tingle. _She_ caused him to make that sound. It was _her_ who was making him go crazy.

Hailey leaned forward, wrapping her lips around the head of his penis, swirling her tongue around it before she let her mouth completely sink down around it. Harry let out another low groan as his fingers tangled up in her hair. Her lips moved against him, slowly at first, giving him a little torture to go with the pleasure, but then she quickly sped up earning a very sexy grunt from him.

“ _Fuuck_ ,” Harry groaned, tightening his fingers in her hair.

Hailey’s mouth bobbed up and down him in multiple succession causing his body to squirm and shake. Pleased with herself, she gave him one last lick before she retreated, looking up at him.

“Fuck, Hailey…” He breathed, looking down into her eyes.

She smirked up at him as she lifted her shirt over her head. He watched contently as she removed her bra and Hailey felt comfortable for the first time being naked in front of him. She knew they were way past the point of being shy.

“God _damn,_ ” he moaned as he gently ran his hands over her breasts.

The way he was looking at her, his eyes glazed over with lust, his tongue rolling over his lips – _god_ , it made her insides melt. She was a hormonal puddle, just waiting for Harry to fuck her.

Harry’s hands came down, wrapping underneath her ass, lifting her up, only to plop her down farther up the bed as he crawled up toward her. A moment later, his fingers hooked into the waistband of her sweatpants, pulling them down toward him, panties and all. Hailey watched as he completely kicked off his own clothes, while simultaneously discarding hers onto the floor.

“C’mere,” Hailey told him, holding out her arms for him.

“Mmm,” he hummed as he smirked down at me, crawling up the bed atop her body.

The feel of their warm bare skin pressing together was almost more than Hailey could take. She hummed against his lips when he leaned down to kiss her. She was ready to give herself completely to him. This time, _this_ time it was different. It was completely different. With the way they were both acknowledging each other, savoring each other, she knew everything had changed for the better.

“Please, Harry,” Hailey breathed against his lips, begging for him to take her.

Harry quietly slipped his hand down between them, guiding him inside of her on one long motion and all Hailey could do was let out a weight sigh as she got exactly what she wanted. _Him_.

“Oh, god,” Hailey groaned as he nearly pulled out completely and pressed back in.

“Hailey,” he breathed out her name, burying his face in the nape of her neck as his movements sped up.

“ _Oh, god_ ,” she groaned again as the pleasure raced through her.

She never ever want to have sex with anyone else. This was too good, too perfect. Harry ruined her for every other man in the world. He was it for her.

“Please, just don’t stop,” Hailey gasped as the waves of ecstasy crashed over her.

“I… won’t,” Harry panted, speeding up his motions for her.

And suddenly she was losing her mind, her strength, her will. It was all so good, so right. Her body tensed below him as the adrenaline raced through her, tingle after tingle, before she finally exploded. Harry gave a pleased smirked as he continued to rock into her.

Once Hailey’s body settled, her mind finally began to function again and she wanted nothing more than to get Harry his happy ending.

She pushed up against his chest and he surprised her by going with the flow, grabbing onto her body as he tumbled backward onto the bed so she was on top. Hailey giggled as she positioned herself above him. Harry looked up at her with a smirk as she began roll her hips against him.

“Oh, god,” Harry groaned, hanging his head back over the side of the mattress as he lay splayed out across her bed.

“Baby, look at me,” Hailey told him, running her fingertip across his sharper-than-glass jawline.

Harry quickly looked up into her eyes and she leaned down, kissing his lips as she continued to move against him.

“Oh, god, Hailey. Fuck,” he groaned against her lips.

“Mmm,” she hummed, lightly biting his bottom lip to add some pain with his pleasure.

Harry groaned loudly as he grasped onto her hips, moving her faster and faster. It didn’t take long before his body tensed underneath her. He let out a satisfied sigh as he finally relaxed below her. Hailey let herself sink down against him, her ear against his chest. His heart was beating so fast, she could have sworn it was about to beat straight through his flesh. He was so incredible. And she felt so lucky to be laying there in his arms – in the arms of the one she loved.

After a few moments, Hailey felt his fingertips brush up her spine, causing her muscles to contract and a giggle to escape her lips.

“Stop it,” she breathed through a smile.

“Stop touching you? Never,” he said quietly. Hailey buried her nose into the skin of his chest as a cheesy grin invaded her face.

“Hey. You stop that,” Harry chuckled, sliding his hand between her nose and his chest.

A moment later, his fingers wedged under her chin, coaxing her lips up to his. He kissed her lightly, then left a kiss on the tip of her nose.

“Are you ready for bed, beautiful?” He asked, smiling down at her.

“I am now,” she replied, smiling contently back at him.

“C’mon,” he said, lifting her up and she quickly slipped off his body so he could sit up.

The two of them crawled underneath the sheets together and quietly fell asleep, wrapped up in each other.

But when Hailey woke up, her back was cold. She was no longer being spooned by her beloved. And when she turned in the bed, she found the spot where Harry laid empty. Her heart plummeted.

She sat up in bed, looking around. His clothes were gone.

“No,” she said, scrambling out of bed.

She darted out into the living room, finding her apartment completely empty. Every trace of Harry was gone, from his clothing to his suitcase. He was gone.

And every single part of her felt empty.

…

Hailey lay curled up in her bed, legs pulled up against herself, blanket tuck under her chin, trying to keep herself from falling apart over Harry more than she already had. Her tears still stained the pillow and she couldn’t hardly bear the ache in her heart.

It had been hours since she woke up and found him gone. _Hours._ A part of her hoped he was just out getting coffee or breakfast to surprise her, but that wasn’t the case. He was just gone. There was no phone call and no text to even acknowledge her in his life in any way, shape or form after the night the shared – after the weekend they shared with one another. He didn’t even respond to the texts she sent him.

And she was slowly realizing that none of it meant anything to him. She was wrong all along. Dead wrong.

Hailey’s phone buzzed on her nightstand, breaking her from her thoughts. Her heart sped up, hoping it might be Harry with an explanation. But it wasn’t and her heart sank once again.

_Jeremy._

What made her answer, she did not know. Because she was in no mood to talk to anyone.

“H-hello…” Her voice came out shaky and breathless.

“Hailey?” He questioned, sounding almost excited to be calling her.

“Yeah,” she croaked, clearing her throat seconds later.

“Hi. It’s uh, it’s Jeremy,” he told her.

“Hi,” she said, trying to sound at least a little excited to hear from. Because she was. He wasn’t the one to stomp her heart to little bits by one selfish act.

“Hey, I thought I’d call since I haven’t heard from you. I tried texting. But… I don’t know. I was a little afraid you fell off the face of the earth or something on your trip back home,” he said, letting out a small laugh.

“No. I’m alive,” she told him – even though she felt closer to death.

“That’s good to hear,” he chuckled.

“Yeah,” she said, letting out a forced laugh.

“Hey, listen. I was just wondering… I mean, if you’re not busy… I would like to take you to dinner… I don’t know… sometime soon,” he told her and she couldn’t help but feel a bit of excitement in the pit of her stomach.

She sat up quickly in her bed, letting the blankets fall off of her still naked body.

“Oh,” she said.

“Oh?” He questioned with a laugh.

“That was a good ‘oh’,” she said, letting a smile form on her face.

“A good ‘oh’, huh?” He chuckled.

“Yes,” she told him.

“So, you’ll go to dinner with me?” He asked, sounding hopeful.

“I would… I’d love to,” she told him.

“Great. That’s great. Are you free tomorrow night? I know it’s in the middle of the week and all. And I know we just met and it might be a bit fast. But truthfully, I just can’t stop thinking about you and I really want to see you again,” he offered. Butterflies erupted in her stomach for this man. She’d never had a man speak so candidly about her, to her.

“Tomorrow night sounds amazing,” she said, smiling into the receiver.

“Sounds amazing,” he reiterated. Hailey smiled bashfully thinking about him thinking about her.

“Do you want to maybe text me with your address and I can pick you up?” Jeremy asked.

“Sure, yeah. I can do that,” she told him.

“I’ll pick you up at seven then. Does that work?” He offered.

“Yes. Seven it is,” she agreed.

“Great. I’ll see you tomorrow, beautiful,” he told her.

“Yeah, see you,” she said, smiling from ear-to-ear as she ended the phone call.

Hailey continued smiling, thinking about how such a beautiful man had eyes for her and how she was going to get a chance to see him again and really get to know him when they went on their date. It was enough to make her forget about being wronged by Harry.

But when her phone buzzed again in her hand and she looked down to see Harry’s name flash across the screen, she was reminded of how he slept with her and left her in the morning like she was nothing, like she meant nothing. And it hurt so much. So she quickly pressed ignore and tried to put thoughts of Harry out of her head for good.


End file.
